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This summer it's dragons, not dinos, at Milwaukee County Zoo. Here's what you need to know.
The Milwaukee County Zoo is the perfect place to go to see large animals — from elephants and hippos to rhinos and polar bears. Many summers, there are even dinosaurs to see (of the robotic or Lego variety because dinosaurs are — of course — extinct).
This summer's special exhibit, though, is a little different. It will be in the same place the robotic dinosaurs typically hang out — in the outdoor area behind the small mammal building, surrounded by beautiful foliage compliments of the zoo's horticultural department.
But this year's exhibit will feature neither the real, live animals who live throughout the zoo nor the robotic, extinct animals that lived millions of years ago. These robotic animals never lived. They're mythical.
They're dragons.
Paige Ballard, a visitor services specialist with the zoo, said she went to the San Antonio zoo last summer and saw Dino Don's mythical dragon exhibit.
Dino Don is a company that, for the last 30 years, has provided touring natural history exhibitions to zoos and museums. As the name implies, the exhibits typically feature giant dinosaurs.
Milwaukee decided to bring the dragons here, and will be only the third zoo in the country to feature Dino Don's new exhibit.
Ballard said Milwaukee will be making some tweaks to the exhibit for their own purposes.
"In San Antonio, the exhibit had more of a Renaissance Faire feeling," said Ballard. "Here we're going more toward hitting hard on animal conservation messaging."
There are several reasons Ballard thinks families will feel encouraged to advocate for animal conservation after they see the dragons.
Kids love dragons
Kids' interest in dinosaurs is legendary — from their fascination with dino-themed movies and TV shows to their uncanny ability to remember long, complicated names of the extinct giants.
Staff at the zoo suspect children will be similarly interested in dragons. And they're hoping to build on their interest in facts about dragon lore to also get them interested in facts about other animals.
"Everyone loves the dinosaurs, they're big amazing, colorful. And when we came across the dragons that Dino Don created, there was a lot of the same feeling," said Ballard. "And we know that movies like 'How to Train Your Dragon' are really popular with kids too, so we wanted that connection. This is a really good way to build on that interest so kids can learn a little bit more about the zoo and conservation goals."
Dragons inspire connection to real-life animals
The zoo plans to relate interest in mythical creatures to real-life animal conservation by pointing out the similarities between dragon features and popular zoo animals.
There will be 15 dragons throughout the exhibit, and each will represent the mythology of a different culture.
Dragon myths are common throughout the world and are thought to have been partially inspired by dinosaur fossils people in history may have found without understanding what dinosaurs were. Bodily features from those fossils were then added to other animal features to create the fictional beasts.
Because the dragon stories were inspired by different parts of the world, each dragon's body has characteristics of animals common to those environments.
For example, one robotic dragon, Ninki Nanka, is based on a mythical creature from West Africa, which also has elements of crocodiles, giraffes and pangolins.
"In our signage, we'll be pointing out the animal comparisons that each of the dragons have and encouraging guests to find them," said Ballard. "Then we'll make the connection to current animals and conservation by pointing out the animals we have at the zoo. Like, if one dragon has the characteristics of a snake, we'll encourage visitors to visit our snakes at the aquatic and reptile center to see the similarities for themselves."
Dragons are a great way to learn about different cultures
The Milwaukee Zoological Society recently received a grant to increase the use of empathy in the zoo's programming, with the idea being if people empathize with animals, they're more likely to advocate for their conservation.
One element of empathy-building is to encourage visitors to empathize with people in other cultures by taking advantage of the fact that the zoo has a natural connection to other parts of the world through the animals that come from other countries.
"As people walk around the zoo, it's clear to see we have representative species from all over the world," said Beth Heller, the society's vice president of programs. "As visitors recognize that there are many cultures that inform our experiences, that understanding helps us have empathy for each other."
Ballard said the dragon exhibit follows the same principles of building empathy through cultural awareness.
"This exhibit will be a global celebration of the mythical stories that all humans in different regions and cultures tell," said Ballard. "Dragons show that connection between humans in different cultures, and the dragons' features show the connection to real-life animals that need to be conserved."
The dragon exhibit will feature more than 15 robotic dragons, many of which will move and make noises, set in an environment of foliage planted by the zoo's horticultural department.
The exhibit will be located in the outdoor area behind the zoo's small mammal building from May 28 through Sept. 5.
Visitors must pay for a zoo admission, plus an added price of $3 to visit the exhibit.
There will be a dragon-themed gift shop tent located in the exhibit.
More:Wisconsin zoos are helping visitors empathize with animals. They hope that will encourage conservation.
More:A show based on 'Jurassic World' is coming to Fiserv Forum, complete with life-size animatronic dinosaurs | 2022-05-11T12:32:19Z | www.jsonline.com | Milwaukee County Zoo has a dragon special exhibit this summer | https://www.jsonline.com/story/life/wisconsin-family/2022/05/11/milwaukee-county-zoo-has-dragon-special-exhibit-summer-2022/9614911002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/life/wisconsin-family/2022/05/11/milwaukee-county-zoo-has-dragon-special-exhibit-summer-2022/9614911002/ |
The deadline to appeal Milwaukee property assessments is May 16. Here are five tips to know beforehand.
Last year, Milwaukee homeowners made a record number of appeals to their property valuations, corresponding to a record number of home sales.
This year, the deadline is once again looming, as residents consider challenging their assessments as either too high or too low.
In Milwaukee, property assessments are typically done every year. One reason property assessments are considered important is because, when multiplied by the local tax levy, the assessments help calculate a homeowner's property tax bill.
Having a higher property value has traditionally been considered a good thing, as it builds equity for the homeowner. But in low-income areas, higher property values have led to concerns around higher property taxes, which can be devastating for homeowners living on fixed incomes.
RELATED:Black residents built Halyard Park. Now they fear being taxed out their homes as downtown development moves northward.
City of Milwaukee Assessment Commissioner Nicole Larsen and Assessment Division Manager Kirk Redmon addressed those concerns at a meeting before the Sherman Park Community Association, where some residents said they felt punished for making improvements to their property or had no idea why their assessments suddenly rose.
Larsen acknowledged sometimes assessments, and the property taxes that result from them, can lead to “difficult” outcomes, while she also explained her team is doing the best they can to get it right.
Here are answers to some of the most common questions:
Who makes property value assessments?
A property's value is determined primarily by using the sales of comparable properties in the previous year.
RELATED:Milwaukee property owners saw a jump in property tax assessments. Here's what that means and what to do about it
Because there are only 21 appraisers for more than 150,000 properties in Milwaukee, individual appraisers do not make the determination on your property's value. Rather, their job is to gather as much information about regions and areas as possible, which is then plugged into a “computer assisted mass appraisal” system.
Why is there such a huge jump between the 2019 and 2021 assessed value?
A property's value can be impacted by many things, including upgrades (such as a newly installed pool or central air system), additions (such as building a deck) or even just proximity to high-value amenities (such as a park or stadium).
At the meeting, Larsen and Redmon explained that due to the pandemic, the assessor's office was unable to do regular inspections. Consequently, the office conducted a “maintenance year” in 2021. A maintenance year, according to the Wisconsin Property Assessment Manual, involves “copying the assessment roll from the previous year and updating values to the current level of assessment when changes warrant.”
Depending on the property's condition compared to 2019, the sale prices of comparable homes and other factors, you may see your assessment change substantially.
What do property sales have to do with assessments?
In 2020, there were less than 5,500 market rate sales. Just a year later, there were 8,600. As Larsen and Redmon explained, the high volume of sales, particularly in low-income areas, created demand, which then drove up values.
These higher values can sometimes lead to a neighborhood receiving noticeably higher assessments and higher property tax bills.
That's not always the case. While property assessments factor into property taxes, the tax levy — determined in the fall — plays even more of a role.
You can learn more about 2021 property assessments from the state's Department of Revenue.
How can I make an appeal?
Before filing an appeal, you can reach out to the city using their “Ask the Assessor” feature. Homeowners who go this route can see how likely it is that their assessment will be reduced without having to pay for market research or an independent appraisal.
If you choose to file an appeal, the office encourages property owners to submit evidence. For homeowners, that could include the following:
The copy of a recent appraisal
Recent market analysis from a local real estate agent
Photos from the interior and exterior of a home of areas needing maintenance, and
Photos showing features not listed on the Assessor's Office's property record card.
Homeowners can make their appeal by calling 414-286-5656, visiting the assessor's office or going to the website milwaukee.gov/assessorobjection.
You must submit your appeal by 4:45 p.m. May 16, a deadline designated by state law.
How does the appeal process work?
Appeals are a two-step process.
First, they go before the Board of Assessors, which is composed of management personnel from the assessor's office. If the property owner disagrees with board of assessor's findings, they can take their appeal to a hearing before the Board of Review, which is composed of residents. Larsen and Redmon noted sometimes, the assessment is adjusted before it ever gets to the review board.
Wondering how likely it will be that your appeal is approved or denied? According to Larsen, 39% of appeals made in 2020 received an assessment that was lower than the original. | 2022-05-11T12:32:31Z | www.jsonline.com | Want to appeal a Milwaukee property assessment? Here are five tips | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2022/05/11/want-appeal-milwaukee-property-assessment-here-five-tips/9658392002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2022/05/11/want-appeal-milwaukee-property-assessment-here-five-tips/9658392002/ |
Anne Curley
As a cradle Catholic whose values were shaped by 12 years of Catholic education and 60-plus years of Mass attendance, I feel great gratitude for the countless caring sisters, priests and Catholic laypeople who have guided and inspired me through much of my life. I’ve been proud to be associated with the good done by Catholic schools, hospitals and charitable organizations throughout the world.
So it’s with real sadness that I’ve joined the throng who have left the church.
The recently released policy of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee on how to treat transgender individuals has made it impossible for me, in good conscience, to call myself a Catholic.
I didn’t come to this decision lightly. When friends would ask, “How can you be a Catholic despite (choose one or more) the clergy sex abuse scandal, the ban on women priests, the treatment of homosexuality as a disorder, the rules on birth control … I had three well-honed responses:
“A 2,000-year-old, global institution doesn’t change quickly,” “Show me a major human institution that isn’t a mixed bag of strengths and corruption,” and “It’s the good, grace-filled people that keep me hanging in there — not the policies.”
Still, I can’t say I relished the mental gymnastics required to justify why I continued to be a practicing Catholic.
More:Archdiocese of Milwaukee says new gender identity policy aligns with Catholicism. But critics argue it's damaging for transgender youth.
The justifications ran out when I read “Catechesis and policy on questions concerning gender theory,” a stunningly harsh new directive from the archdiocese covering Catholic parishes, organizations and institutions.
In no uncertain terms, it spells out how all employees, volunteers and vendors at these institutions are to treat transgender individuals. Among other dictates, it includes, “Recognize only a person’s biological sex,” “No person may designate a ‘preferred pronoun’ in speech or in writing” and “All persons are to follow the dress code or uniform that accords with their biological sex.”
The document begins by saying, “’The truth will set you free.’ Christ’s words to his disciples call Christians in every age to embrace the truth of who we are as children of God, for only in embracing this truth can we be set free."
I believe that truth is embedded in each of us — that God implanted a unique identity that is ours alone to experience, express and put to good use during our time on Earth. The fact that society is becoming more accepting of differences in our identities — race, sexual orientation and gender expression being prime examples — strikes me as part of God’s unfolding plan to enable each of us to achieve our full potential.
I am not an expert on it, but I think it’s safe to say the subject of gender identity is complex, nuanced and not a good candidate for rigid rules. What I know for sure is that my Catholic education taught me Jesus identified with those whom the rule-makers rejected. I learned that he reserved his harshest criticism for religious leaders who piled heavy burdens on others. Thanks to my Catholic formation, I know that to be Christian means to uplift the dignity of others, especially those who most need uplifting.
So how can I be a committed Christian and go along with a policy that, instead of emphasizing compassionate care, institutionalizes the oppression of people because of who they are?
Anne Curley formerly served as a member of the Milwaukee Archdiocesan Catholic Schools Commission; a director of the Catholic Community Foundation, Pius XI High School and Mount Mary University; co-founder of the Favre Forum for Catholic professionals; and parish council president at St. Mary’s Visitation Parish in Elm Grove. In 2017, she established the Ignatian Volunteer Corps tutoring program, which currently provides 77 tutors to more than 200 students at four Archdiocesan schools. | 2022-05-11T12:32:38Z | www.jsonline.com | Milwaukee Archdiocese policy on transgender people drove me away | https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinion/2022/05/11/milwaukee-archdiocese-policy-transgender-people-drove-me-away/9716297002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinion/2022/05/11/milwaukee-archdiocese-policy-transgender-people-drove-me-away/9716297002/ |
What you need to know for the Lake Country DockHounds inaugural season
At long last, the Lake County DockHounds are stepping up to the plate.
Opening day has been years in the making for the area's newest sports team. From finding a home, building that home and fielding a team, it all comes down to the first pitch on the mound May 13 on the road against the rival Milwaukee Milkmen. The DockHounds' home opener is May 20, against the Winnipeg Goldeneyes.
General manager Trish Rasberry, who has two decades of sports industry experience, has been leading the charge to get everything ready for the team's inaugural season in the American Association of Professional Baseball.
Rasberry previously worked with the Milwaukee Bucks and, most recently, the Milkmen, a team she helped build.
A Lake Country native, Rasberry has been honored to bring a team to the area.
"I've done this a couple times, and the thrill is always there," she said. "Now that games are here, it's surreal. It's exciting."
Rasberry said there are still some challenges before fans enter Wisconsin Brewing Co. Park, 1011 Blue Ribbon Circle North, Oconomowoc. However, she said everything will be ready for game day.
"Life gives you curveballs," Rasberry said. "We got a curveball yesterday when the plant we're supposed to get our trash and recycling bins from in Texas was hit by a tornado. It's a curveball. We'll solve every issue we can, take the next pitch and hopefully make it work."
Rostering a team from zero to a full squad has not been a simple task. Starting with manager Jim Bennett, the reigning AAPB Manager of the Year after only one season with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, the team has brought in a wide array of players from around the globe.
Two players are from Taiwan: outfielder Dai-Kang Yang and right-handed pitcher Cheng Hao-Chunare. Four are from Venezuela. Beside them in the dugout are five players from Wisconsin and others from around the country.
Their experience comes from all levels of the sport. There are longtime pros, including Alex McRae, who is the lone player with MLB appearances (with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox). Others come from other parts of the minor leagues or international leagues.
"We have a great mix," Rasberry said. "We're going to be competitive right out of the gate, and I hope we are a team to beat coming down the stretch."
Most the players are currently housed by host families. Rasberry said she was initially concerned over whether they would find enough hosts to house everyone. But after the team put a call out to the community, it received twice what it needed.
"It was hard to turn people away," she said. "These families are amazing, and we're already seeing bonds and the players becoming kind of part of the family."
The ballpark
With 3,700 tickets to sell and a staff of 150 seasonal workers and 30 interns, in addition to the front office, game day will be crowded. Opening day is already sold out, aside from a few standing room tickets. Five-game, 10-game, half-season and full-season packages have also sold well.
Most teams have to reach out to vendors and businesses about advertising or being part of the team in some way. By contrast, Rasberry said she is struggling to keep up with the demand from the area.
Wisconsin Brewing Co. is one of the biggest names, having bought the ballpark naming rights. It is going beyond just plastering a logo on the front entrance. It is also brewing beer on site, one of which is the Walk-Off, a beer made specifically for the team. It's brewed in one of the stadium's five in-house barrels.
That's what Rasberry said is part of the grander appeal the stadium offers.
"The game is why we're here, but we want there to be a lot of variety and fun as well," she said. "Each game will be a bit different. You won't see the same show twice, and you'll see a lot of variety."
Fun at the park
With 50 home games to account for, the front office decided to go all out on themes for weekend homestands and nightly offerings. For the latter, this includes Monday night dog nights, $2 hot dog Wednesdays and souvenir Saturdays. The themes go beyond that.
Each weekend the team is in town, it will feature themes like a luau hosted by the team's mascot, Louie, a superhero and fantastical weekend called "Fairy Tail Weekend," and a Wizard of Oz night that will have prizes for all fans in attendance.
The team will also have Colt, its golden retriever bat dog, who will retrieve bats for the team at home games.
"We're super excited and so thankful for all of the support from the community," Rasberry said. "The community has rallied around this team, they've named the team, they've done so much, and we can't wait to see them at the ballpark."
Game 1, Season 1
The first game is the focus right now for team members. They'll travel a short distance east to face the Milkmen at Franklin Field in Franklin at 6:35 p.m. May 13.
Rasberry said the teams hope to build a fun, competitive rivalry.
"We should have something," she said. "We don't have anything directly in place right now, but I think it will evolve into something."
There is no bet between the teams, though Rasberry did not rule one out in the future. She said it could be similar to the Badgers and University of Minnesota, but that has yet to be determined. Both teams are already planning for playful jousting on social media.
Game 1 will determine who really has the bragging rights.
"We want to win that first game," Rasberry said. "We gotta open with our best pitchers, and we want to win."
For more information about the DockHounds, including how to buy tickets, visit www.dockhounds.com.
More:Smith: Beautiful weather, angling success highlight Governor's Fishing Opener on Shell Lake
More:A West Allis man has designed the Lake Country DockHounds baseball team’s fan T-shirt | 2022-05-11T15:39:10Z | www.jsonline.com | What to know for the Lake Country DockHounds inaugural season | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/2022/05/11/what-know-lake-country-dockhounds-inaugural-season/9719899002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/2022/05/11/what-know-lake-country-dockhounds-inaugural-season/9719899002/ |
Homestead High School students win international math modeling competition for model predicting future of remote work
Four Homestead High School students recently won an international math modeling competition — and $20,000 in scholarship money to go with it.
Adam Garsha, Jacob Schmidman, Eric Wan and Ethan Wang took home the top prize after being named the winners of the 2022 MathWorks Math Modeling Challenge on April 25; the final event was held in New York City. They were led by coach Weizhong Wang.
"This year’s competition asked students to use math modeling to predict the future of remote work, analyzing the percent of jobs that are remote-ready and whether workers in those jobs will be willing or able to work remotely, then determining the percentage of workers who will go remote in a given city or metro area," according to a news release from the competition.
"When we finally got there (to New York City), we were basically saying 'whatever happens, we got this far. We're finalists.' So then actually winning it, I'm not sure if any of us expected it, but it was a really, really incredible thing," said Schmidman in a Zoom interview with the team May 2.
"Last year, they won the honorable mention. This year, they (went) all the way to the championship. It was fantastic," Wang said during the interview.
The MathWorks Math Modeling Challenge involves students using mathematical modeling to solve real-world problems.
"SIAM helps build cooperation between mathematics and the worlds of science and technology to solve real-world problems through publications, conferences, and communities like chapters, sections and activity groups," said a news release.
Students completed the online challenge between Feb. 25 and Feb. 28. Once they downloaded the problem, students had 14 hours to complete the task; the clock could not be paused.
Teams could work from any location and could "use computers, software packages, books, reference works, internet resources or any other inanimate sources, all of which must be properly referenced within the solution paper." However, teams could not have help from their coach or anyone other than their teammates through any medium, according to the competition's website.
The four Homestead students were among 2,700 participating on 612 teams from across the United States and the United Kingdom. Six finalists were selected out of the 612 teams "after having their submissions judged by an international panel of Ph.D.-level mathematicians, according to the news release.
The team did well in recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of its model, had a good assumption and variable definition, good appendix and code, and had a well-written report in which the mathematics and modeling were clear and easy to follow, according to the judge's comments in the team's report.
To view the team's winning report, visit https://bit.ly/M3WinningReport. For more information on the competition itself, visit m3challenge.siam.org/. | 2022-05-11T15:39:16Z | www.jsonline.com | Homestead students win international math competition | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/news/mequon/2022/05/11/homestead-students-win-international-math-competition/9709000002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/news/mequon/2022/05/11/homestead-students-win-international-math-competition/9709000002/ |
A new residential development in Menomonee Falls could generate an estimated $10.68 million to clean up a nearby landfill
A residential development along Main Street in Menomonee Falls could generate the funds for the village to clean up a nearby landfill.
Johanssen Farms LLC, a subsidiary of Halquist Stone, has acquired 120 acres from the James O F Kirsten Revocable Trust. Late last year, village officials approved a plan for 103 single-family lots and 14 duplex condominiums for more housing in Menomonee Falls.
The land, at N67 W21805 Main St., is across the street from the Whispering Ridge Estates subdivision in the village of Lannon and adjacent to the Willow Springs Learning Center, a 4K facility the Hamilton School District uses.
The 50-acre landfill, which is close to the potential housing development, and north of Mill Road, dates to the 1950s, according to village documents.
More:A 103-room SpringHill Suites hotel is coming to the Whitestone Station development in Menomonee Falls
More:Kohl's Corp. future uncertain as investor fight nears end, sale of company considered. 4,000 area jobs, corporate headquarters at risk.
Matt Carran, director of community development for Menomonee Falls, said that with the recent creation of Tax Incremental District No. 15, development of the subdivision could bring in money that could be used to limit contamination or environmental hazards at the landfill.
"You never know what will happen. We have to clean it up to modern standards. All the regulations in place now were not in the 1950s," Carran said.
"If it becomes a problem and the DNR directs us to clean it up, (using money generated by the TIF district) keeps this off the backs of the taxpayers," he said.
New TIF district
The Village Board on May 2 unanimously agreed to create the TIF district. According to village documents, officials expect the development to be worth more than $72 million once it's completed.
The district covers 130 acres near Town Line Road and Main Street, an area that encompasses the Halquist Stone residential development.
The new district is expected to generate enough in additional taxes to finance an estimated $10.68 million of work on the landfill.
The district also could finance up to $1.3 million in water line extensions for the subdivision, according to village documents. The plan is for TIF revenues to pay off the landfill and utility costs by 2042.
The residential development
The development is planned to be constructed in three phases, the first beginning in 2022. The other two phases would follow in consecutive years, according to village documents.
A 28.13-acre wetland will separate the condominiums from the single-family homes, according to the plans.
According to village documents, the 103 single-family lots range in size from 15,030 square feet to 166,391 square feet, with varied lot widths and depths. The goal of the project is be to preserve the wetlands and the natural area at the site.
The single-family homes would range from 1,800 square feet for a one-story home to 2,200 square feet for a two-story home. The cost of these homes is expected to range from $500,000 to $900,000. The condominiums will range from 1,800 to 2,300 square feet and will cost between $500,000 and $650,000. The specific number of homes will be decided later, according to village documents.
According to the proposal, there would be at least one two-car garage for every unit. | 2022-05-11T15:39:29Z | www.jsonline.com | New Falls development could generate money to clean up landfill | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northwest/news/menomonee-falls/2022/05/11/new-falls-development-could-generate-money-clean-up-landfill/9709894002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northwest/news/menomonee-falls/2022/05/11/new-falls-development-could-generate-money-clean-up-landfill/9709894002/ |
An Oak Creek apartment concept that looks more like single-family homes is getting closer to its potential heyday.
CR Devco LLC presented a conceptual plan, now tentatively titled “Heyday Oak Creek,” to the city in October 2021, which Mayor Dan Bukiewicz said at the time had “a ways to go.”
The developer has been advancing the concept and recently requested a rezone to two-family residential of multiple properties that would be the site of the homes including 2231 W. Puetz Rd., 8843 S. 13th St., and 8950 S. 20th St.
Oak Creek’s plan commission on May 10 recommended the common council approve the rezone and planned unit development for portions of the properties with a unanimous vote. The common council already approved a certified survey map for the properties in March.
Current project concepts aren’t too far removed from those proposed last year with 134 single-family attached residences (formerly 136) in 22 ranch-style buildings (formerly 24) with one leasing office near the entrance.
Plans indicate the four-, six-, and eight-unit buildings will “incorporate similar cottage home architecture.” Each unit will have attached one- or two-car garages. City Planner Kari Papelbon said the buildings will also incorporate national green building standards.
Units will range from 832 square feet for a one-bedroom up to 1,701 square feet for a three-bedroom. The conceptual model includes 44 one-bedroom, 78 two-bedroom and 12 three-bedroom units.
During the October 2021 presentation, Josh Wohlreich of CR Devco said the market-rate apartments would range from $1,400 per month for a one-bedroom unit to $2,600 for a three-bedroom.
A few amenities mentioned during the initial concepting in 2021 were a walking path, dog park and a playground.
A public road extension from Puetz Road was included as part of the approved CSM and an official map amendment. Private roads will provide access to residential buildings off a public cul-de-sac, according to city documents.
“There will be a development agreement required due to the extension of public streets in this development,” Papelbon said.
Project specifics are still conceptual at this point, and a rezone doesn’t mean the city approves of all elements.
“The initial recommendation of approval of this PUD and rezone is not an endorsement of any site plan that has been presented before you,” Papelbon said.
The plan commission will need to review conditions and restrictions for the rezone and PUD after a public hearing at its May 24 meeting.
Previously, developer CR Devco indicated a desire to break ground in December 2022.
Janssen Bruckner LLC is proposing a similar development called Stonebrook on the Park next to Abendschein Park at 641 and 819R E. Drexel Ave. which includes 33 buildings. | 2022-05-11T15:39:35Z | www.jsonline.com | 134-unit Oak Creek apartment project proposed in Oak Creek | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/south/news/oak-creek/2022/05/11/134-unit-oak-creek-apartment-project-proposed-oak-creek/9726294002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/south/news/oak-creek/2022/05/11/134-unit-oak-creek-apartment-project-proposed-oak-creek/9726294002/ |
The Milwaukee Bucks have the title of NBA Champions. And now one of their employees has another big one: Miss Wisconsin USA 2022.
Hollis Brown, a coordinator of partner strategy and management for the Bucks, was crowned the new Miss Wisconsin USA Sunday at the Madison Marriott West Conference Center.
"It felt amazing," Brown told the Journal Sentinel Tuesday in her first official interview after receiving her new title. "You prepare and you work so hard to figure out who you are as a person, how to present your best self over the last few months. To see everything and all of your hard work actually coming to fruition, it just absolutely meant the world to me."
Her pageant and professional journeys
Brown participated — and won — her first pageant, the Miss Black and Gold Pageant for the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., as a sophomore at Virginia Tech, where she majored in marketing and minored in communications.
She was recruited to be a part of the competition, which included a talent portion, since she had 18 years of dance experience.
"It has honestly changed my life," the Savannah native said. "I just grew so much throughout that process."
After graduating in 2018, Brown would go on to become the 2019 Miss Black Virginia USA. She made it into the top five of the national pageant.
Brown later moved to Charlotte to work for ESPN Events and help with their collegiate basketball tournaments across the East Coast. During her time there, she made it into the top 10 in the Miss North Carolina USA pageant.
In May of 2021, Brown moved to Milwaukee to work for the Bucks as a sales associate. She was promoted to her current role — her "absolute dream job" — in November.
"This organization is like none that I've ever seen before," she said. "The people are absolutely amazing. And not only are they willing to pour into your professional development and goals, they also really care about what's important to you as a person."
The Miss Wisconsin USA competition
The Miss Wisconsin USA competition was held over the weekend.
Brown's loved ones were able to be there in-person cheering her on. And her Bucks family made "Go Hollis" T-shirts for them, Brown said.
On Saturday, Brown took part in the interview portion of the competition, where she talked about her passions: Sexual assault awareness as a survivor and the podcast she co-hosts called "Outnumbered with Kelli and Hollis." It focuses on "breaking the barriers for women in male-dominated industries, specially sports, like myself," she said.
"Throughout this year, I've been able to build a very strong self-awareness of what I can bring to the organization and what difference that I really want to make in the community," she said. "To be able to connect and have that conversation with the judges is hands down my favorite part."
Also on Saturday was the preliminary round in which 28 contestants competed in swimwear and evening gown categories, she said.
Finals for the top 15 were held on Sunday and also featured swimwear and evening gown contests. The top five contestants then each faced an on-stage, on-the-spot interview question.
In true Bucks fashion, Brown came out victorious. Now hopefully her team has the same fate against the Boston Celtics this week.
How Brown plans to use her platform
Brown plans to "make the most of this year" by using her new platform to continue spreading sexual assault awareness.
Brown works with the End Violence Against Women organization, helping share their "Start by Believing" campaign around Wisconsin.
Brown said she has given presentations to groups, such as Girls Inc. of Greater Madison, to educate people on how to initially react if someone shares that they've been sexually assaulted, what to say and how to help them.
"Your initial thought is to protect the person you love so much because it is such a traumatic experience," she said. "At the time, the survivor may not be open to protection or whatever you think may be best in that moment. You really have to listen to the victim."
In the past, Brown has also spoken at Pathfinders Milwaukee's "Night of Healing," which supports youth survivors and their supporters, and features speakers and healing activities.
At the event, she shed light on Denim Day — an annual international event in which people wear jeans to show support for sexual assault survivors and also send a message to stop victim-blaming — and shared her experience as both an advocate and survivor.
To follow Brown's journey as Miss Wisconsin USA, visit instagram.com/misswiusa or misswisconsinusa.com. | 2022-05-11T15:39:41Z | www.jsonline.com | Miss Wisconsin USA 2022 Hollis Brown works for Milwaukee Bucks | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/2022/05/11/miss-wisconsin-usa-2022-hollis-brown-works-milwaukee-bucks/9720720002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/2022/05/11/miss-wisconsin-usa-2022-hollis-brown-works-milwaukee-bucks/9720720002/ |
4 things to do in Milwaukee this weekend, including visiting the first Traveling Beer Garden of the season
1. Traveling beer garden is back (other beer gardens, too)
The first of the season's Traveling Beer Gardens in Milwaukee County Parks camps out starting this week in Juneau Park, with Sprecher craft beer and hard sodas, cider, wine, non-alcoholic beverages and more. The stop at Juneau Park, the first of 10 in the parks this summer, runs through May 30. Traveling Beer Garden hours are 5 to 9 p.m. weekdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. (Note: Many of the Milwaukee area's freestanding beer gardens are already open for the season, including those in Whitnall, Estabrook, South Shore and Hubbard Park. Also: The beer garden at The Landing in Hoyt Park opens May 13.) Info: travelingbeergardens.com.
RELATED:Milwaukee-area beer garden guide
2. Petfest Pop-Up in Mequon
Fromm Petfest, coming to Milwaukee's lakefront Sept. 24, has a preview of sorts with a Petfest Pop-Up from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 14 at The Annex at Foxtown, 6375 W. Mequon Road. There'll be a fully fenced dog park with agility obstacles (for the dogs) as well as local vendors, live music and more. Info: petfestmke.com.
3. Spring Bayshore Art Fair
More than 70 art-makers will have their works on display at the Bayshore Art Fair, at the Glendale shopping complex at 5800 N. Bayshore Drive. There'll be food trucks, live music and activities for kids. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 14 and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 15. Admission is free. Info: amdurproductions.com/event/2022-spring-bayshore-art-festival.
4. Tripoli Shrine Circus
In its 68th year, the Tripoli Shrine Circus returns to Milwaukee for six shows at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena this weekend. Aerial acrobats, dancing bears, high-wire acts and more are on the bill; plus, there'll be elephant rides after each performance. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. May 13; 10 a.m., 3 and 8 p.m. May 14; and 1 and 6 p.m. May 15. Tickets are $15 to $35; proceeds benefit Tripoli Shrine Milwaukee. Info: tripolishrine.com/circus. | 2022-05-11T15:39:47Z | www.jsonline.com | 4 things to do in Milwaukee this weekend | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/events/2022/05/11/4-things-do-milwaukee-weekend/9644277002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/events/2022/05/11/4-things-do-milwaukee-weekend/9644277002/ |
Smashing Pumpkins, Jane's Addiction announce fall tour, with Milwaukee stop at Fiserv Forum
Despite being based just 93 miles south of Milwaukee in Chicago, the Smashing Pumpkins haven't played Brew City since 2012.
That will change this fall.
The '90s alt-rock titans have announced a fall tour that stops at Fiserv Forum during Halloween season, on Oct. 30, with Jane's Addiction, another seminal act of that era, opening. Metal artist Poppy is also playing the Milwaukee show.
It also will be the first Milwaukee show since guitarist James Iha returned to the Smashing Pumpkins in 2018. Billy Corgan has always led the band, and drummer Jimmy Chamberlain has largely been part of the fold across the decades, although original bassist D'arcy Wretzky is still not part of the lineup.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at the box office and ticketmaster.com, with presales beginning at 10 a.m. Thursday. Prices have yet to be announced.
More:Kenny Chesney at American Family Field: What you need to know before his Milwaukee concert
More:South Milwaukee's annual summer concert series is back this year. Here's what you can expect. | 2022-05-11T15:39:53Z | www.jsonline.com | Smashing Pumpkins, Jane's Addiction announce fall tour, Milwaukee show | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/05/11/smashing-pumpkins-janes-addiction-announce-fall-tour-milwaukee-show/9729656002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/05/11/smashing-pumpkins-janes-addiction-announce-fall-tour-milwaukee-show/9729656002/ |
Kohl's Corp. shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of the company's slate of candidates for the board of directors, effectively striking down a campaign by activist investors to take over the company — for now.
According to a preliminary vote count on Monday, all 13 Kohl's candidates were reelected.
“We would like to thank our shareholders for their support throughout this proxy contest,” said Peter Boneparth, chairman of the board.
“While we have had differences with Macellum, this board is committed to serving the interests of all our shareholders. The board remains focused on running a robust and intentional review of strategic alternatives while executing our strategy to drive shareholder value. We appreciate the feedback we have received from our shareholders over the past several months and look forward to engaging with them further.”
The results are considered preliminary until final results are tabulated and certified by the independent inspector of elections and final certification is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
More:Large department stores like JC Penney have left behind Wisconsin small towns, but Kohl's remains a vital community asset
The board members are Michael J. Bender, Peter Boneparth, Yael Cosset, Christine Day, Chuck Floyd, Kohl's CEO Michelle Gass, Margaret Jenkins, Thomas Kingsbury, Robbin Mitchell, Jonas O. Prising, John E. Schlifske, Adrianne T. Shapira and Stephanie Streeter
In one of the largest proxy fights in the nation, shareholders gathered virtually and cast their votes for who they trust to lead the company.
Macellum Capital Management has been pushing for regime and board change since January and nominated 10 people to be on the board.
Kohl's responded to Macellum's candidates by adopting a shareholder rights plan, often known as a "poison pill," to prevent an investor from getting more than 10% of the company without a vote from the board.
Although the vote went against Macellum, it's possible the fight is not over.
In 2021, Macellum negotiated with Kohl’s and was able to get three board members elected by shareholders, so it is possible the activist investor could try again to get board control.
Kohl's evaluating potential bids
While much of Wall Street watched the fight between the company and activist investors, Kohl's has been evaluating bids to buy the company.
It's been reported that Kohl's has received a $8.6 billion joint offer from shopping-mall giant Simon Property and Canada-based Brookfield Asset Management, which together bought JC Penney when it filed for bankruptcy in 2020.
On April 14, Franchise Group, owner of The Vitamin Shoppe, made a $9 billion offer to buy Kohl's.
In March, Canadian retailer Hudson Bay was reported to be interested in Kohl's.
In late January, an affiliate of activist hedge fund Starboard Value LP offered $9 billion to buy the Menomonee Falls-based department store chain.
As the stock market overall continues to be in decline, it's unclear if and at what number Kohl's will find a buyer.
The company is continuing with its strategy to heavily invest in its partnership with Sephora by adding hundreds of new Sephora at Kohl's stores by the end of the year.
As of 9:45 a.m. Wednesday, Kohl's stock price was $48.32, down roughly 2%. | 2022-05-11T15:40:05Z | www.jsonline.com | Kohl's board candidates reelected by shareholders, Macellum loses | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2022/05/11/kohls-board-candidates-reelected-shareholders-macellum-loses/9702453002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2022/05/11/kohls-board-candidates-reelected-shareholders-macellum-loses/9702453002/ |
A $16 million development is coming to Milwaukee's near west side. It will feature a commercial kitchen, business incubator and apartments.
A $16 million development is coming to Milwaukee's near west side — transforming a large, vacant building into a mix of uses that includes a commercial kitchen, business incubator and affordable apartments.
The four-story building, at the northwest corner of West Wells and North 27th streets, will be transformed into a community center known as Concordia 27.
That's according to a Wednesday announcement from officials including Gov. Tony Evers, who plans to invest $5 million, provided through federal American Rescue Plan Act fund, on the project.
That will allow Near West Side Partners Inc., a nonprofit group, to leverage an additional $5 million in private investment and enable construction work to begin immediately. Additional funds will come from other sources as that work progresses.
The project is to be completed by May 2023, said Rick Wiegand, who owns the building.
Concordia 27's development is being led by neighborhood residents and is being managed by Wiegand's firm, Wiegand Enterprises; Near West Side Partners and project architect Quorum Architects.
Concordia 27 will help address six community inequities: housing insecurity, health disparities, trauma, food insecurity, unemployment and transportation access
It will bring together service providers and resources to provide access to nutritious food, health and wellness services, job training, entrepreneurial space, housing and transportation.
That includes making daily fresh, affordable meals-to-go to address food insecurity for more than 1,000 residents, and nutritious school meals for more than 15,000 low-income students at 106 schools in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Kenosha counties.
Those will be provided through a commercial, demonstration and incubator kitchen operated by the nonprofit Milwaukee Center for Independence.
That group, based in the neighborhood at 2020 W. Wells St., already is contracted by schools to provide meals through commercial kitchens it operates. This will be an expansion of that work.
The center uses its kitchen to provide culinary workforce training for youth and adults with intellectual disabilities and previously incarcerated people.
The Concordia 27 kitchen also will host cooking demonstrations of healthy foods, and provide space for food business start-ups, said Heidi Chada, Milwaukee Center for Independence vice president.
In addition, Concordia 27 will provide space for a separate business incubator, along with makers space, operated by Fruition Milwaukee.
That new venture will be operated by Rachaad Howard, who also operates Cream City Print Lounge, a West Allis apparel print business.
Concordia 27 will include new offices for Near West Side Partners as well as a larger location for Scaling Wellness in Milwaukee, which provides wellness services.
Scaling Wellness in Milwaukee was launched by Marquette University President Mike Lovell and his wife, Amy, as a response to psychological trauma among people living in Milwaukee's central city. It's now based at that Ascension St. Joseph Hospital campus.
Finally, Concordia 27 will have 30 one- and two-bedroom affordable apartments for senior citizens and working families on the building's upper floors.
The building originally had around 30 apartments before it was sub-divided into 99 apartments decades ago, Wiegand told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Those units have been vacant for several years.
Those new apartments will be supported in part through rental vouchers provided through the Milwaukee Housing Authority.
Concordia 27 also has convenient access to Milwaukee County Transit System’s future bus rapid transit service.
"By serving as a centralized hub of collaboration, innovation, and service, Concordia 27 is both uplifting the local business community and increasing the level of services available to individuals throughout the Near West Side and beyond," Evers told people gathered at the development site.
“Funding from Governor Evers will ensure the vision of Near West Side residents can come to life,” said Keith Stanley, executive director of Near West Side Partners.
However, Stanley told the group, "Additional funding is needed" — a statement he repeated for emphasis.
Concordia 27 is among a series of commercial developments planned for the west side of North 27th Street between West Wisconsin and West Kilbourn avenues.
Wiegand plans to convert a historic former school, 2708 W. Wisconsin Ave., into Grand Avenue Suites, a 23-room extended-stay hotel.
Wiegand, whose neighborhood properties include the Ambassador Hotel, 2308 W. Wisconsin Ave., also is redeveloping the historic former Tower Theater, 757 N. 27th St., into a banquet facility for the Grand Avenue Suites.
But the Grand Avenue Suites development has been on hold as Wiegand waits for the hotel industry to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, Wiegand has long-range plans to convert a former hospital complex, with a five-story and nine-story building at 2711 W. Wells St., into 108 affordable apartments.
However, plans for a state office building, at the southwest corner of West Wisconsin Avenue and North 27th Street, remain on hold after the Republican-controlled state Legislature last year rejected Democrat Evers' proposed funding of the project in the 2021-'23 budget. | 2022-05-11T15:40:11Z | www.jsonline.com | Development near west side features commercial kitchen, apartments | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/real-estate/commercial/2022/05/11/development-near-west-side-features-commercial-kitchen-apartments/9725584002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/real-estate/commercial/2022/05/11/development-near-west-side-features-commercial-kitchen-apartments/9725584002/ |
Two people died following a wrong-way crash overnight on I-43 in Milwaukee
Two people died overnight and the freeway shut down for hours following a wrong-way accident along southbound Interstate 43 near Chase Avenue.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed the fatalities Wednesday morning, and said one of the victims had not yet been identified.
The accident happened around 1:45 a.m., according to a bulletin from the state Department of Transportation. The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office said two people suffered serious injuries in the crash and were transported to an area hospital. They later died.
I-43 was shutdown for several hours, snarling the morning commute. The freeway reopened around 7:21 a.m., the DOT said. No additional information was immediately available. | 2022-05-11T15:40:11Z | www.jsonline.com | 2 dead in crash on I-43 in Milwaukee; freeway closed for hours | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/05/11/2-dead-crash-43-milwaukee-freeway-closed-hours/9729387002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/05/11/2-dead-crash-43-milwaukee-freeway-closed-hours/9729387002/ |
MADISON – The decision to parole a man who served less than 25 years of an 80-year sentence for stabbing his wife to death has angered her sisters and daughter and is becoming an issue in Wisconsin’s governor’s race.
Douglas Balsewicz, 54, is scheduled to be released from prison on May 17, just days before the 25th anniversary of the crime. He is being released despite the opposition of the family of the victim, Johanna Balsewicz. The parole was approved by an appointee of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who is facing pressure from Republicans to take action. | 2022-05-11T15:40:17Z | www.jsonline.com | Tony Evers faces pressure after decision to parole killer Balsewicz | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2022/05/11/tony-evers-faces-pressure-after-decision-parole-killer-douglas-balsewicz/9730403002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2022/05/11/tony-evers-faces-pressure-after-decision-parole-killer-douglas-balsewicz/9730403002/ |
Barry C. Burden and Trey Grayson
Last fall, we warned about the risks of a so-called investigation into the settled 2020 election led by former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman — a costly, bad-faith endeavor with no credibility or transparency.
Remarkably, Gableman’s sham review and his partisan antics are still going on, with no end in sight. Just a few days ago, Gableman was campaigning at a rally with hyper-partisan actors in Wisconsin, including conspiracy theorists and candidates running on disinformation and lies.
As a majority of Wisconsin voters know, the 2020 election was free, fair, and accurate —and occurred more than 18 months ago. But the bill to Wisconsin taxpayers for Gableman’s “investigation” of that election will be at least $676,000.
This review is more than a waste of money. It’s dangerous.
As the nearly 2,000 clerks in Wisconsin prepare for the mid-term elections, a more pernicious risk of the sham election review is emerging: that Gableman’s charade erodes confidence in our elections and the officials who make them run smoothly.
It’s time for the so-called investigation to end, before Gableman does even more long-term damage in Wisconsin.
Nearly a year ago, we published a report evaluating the disastrous Cyber Ninjas review into the 2020 election results in Maricopa County, Arizona. As a reminder, the sham review garnered negative national attention, sweeping concerns and disapproval from voters, and a chorus of bipartisan backlash due to serious legal, security, and credibility issues and not meeting the standards of a proper election recount or audit.
Since then, other bad-faith actors have tried to replicate operations in states like Pennsylvania, Florida, and Michigan. Just as in Arizona, the “review” in Wisconsin is plagued by a lack of transparency and competence, significant cost to taxpayers, widespread bipartisan opposition, and security risks — plus questions about Gableman’s legal authority to conduct it in the first place.
Meanwhile, another troubling trend has emerged in states across the country, including here in Wisconsin. Election officials are facing heightened harassment and threats of violence. While not all clerks are reacting the same way, some are considering leaving their posts or have already retired because of the new threat environment and constant disinformation.
Election workers, who are often our friends and neighbors, should be supported as they focus on preparing to administer safe, fair, and free elections in the August primary and the general election in November. Instead, they have been subject to further threats, bullying, and meddling kept alive by the attempt to rehash the 2020 election.
Gableman has discredited himself time and again. As he’s said publicly: "Most people, myself included, do not have a comprehensive understanding or even any understanding of how elections work.”
Since then, Gableman has engaged in unethical behavior and made a mockery of Wisconsin’s legal systems with an onslaught of unlawful subpoenas, failure to follow basic procedures, and unnecessary and aggressive actions like threatening to jail election officials and city leaders.
A troubling report just last month by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel revealed that Gableman has been deleting records he deems “irrelevant or useless,” with judges in Wisconsin ruling this practice must stop.
Gableman has coordinated with other partisan and far right allies from the start. He has made recent appearances on Fox News with Tucker Carlson, contributed to far right podcasts and radio shows hosted by Steve Bannon and Carlson, secured speaking engagements at partisan political events across the state of Wisconsin, and even traveled to states like Utah and Pennsylvania to encourage other states to follow his lead.
These are not the actions of someone dedicated to an impartial investigation.
As a Republican former secretary of state currently working with election officials in Kentucky and other states, and an elections expert based in Wisconsin, we will always welcome bipartisan, transparent research aimed at improving our voting systems.
Gableman is doing the opposite.
It’s time for leaders in Wisconsin to focus on what matters and what voters actually care about: continuing the Badger state tradition of free, fair, and accurate elections in 2022, 2024, and beyond. From Green Bay to Janesville, our local officials and voters alike need to see energy going toward the future, not rehashing lies and conspiracies from the past while ignoring substantive issues that affect the people in this state like health care, education, and jobs.
We must stand united against attempts to politicize, criminalize, and interfere with free and fair elections or limit voters’ access to the polls. It’s time for Wisconsin leaders to join us in calling for an end to Gableman’s partisan games.
Barry C. Burden is a professor of political science and director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Trey Grayson, a Republican, is the former two-term secretary of state in Kentucky. | 2022-05-11T15:40:29Z | www.jsonline.com | Michael Gableman's vendetta over Wisconsin's 2020 election must end | https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinion/2022/05/11/michael-gablemans-vendetta-over-wisconsins-2020-election-must-end/9710193002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinion/2022/05/11/michael-gablemans-vendetta-over-wisconsins-2020-election-must-end/9710193002/ |
Bob Lanier, who spent the final seasons of his Hall of Fame career with the Milwaukee Bucks, dies at 73
JR Radcliffe Jim Owczarski
Bob Lanier, the star big man acquired by the Milwaukee Bucks midway through the 1979-80 season who led the team to five division titles, has died at age 73 after a short illness.
Lanier played 14 seasons between the Detroit Pistons and Bucks, including the final 4½ with Milwaukee, and averaged 20.1 points and 10.1 rebounds for his career.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, whose No. 16 jersey was retired by the Bucks just two months after he officially declared his retirement in fall of 1984, is the first player whose number has been retired by the Bucks to die.
The Bucks won division titles all five seasons Lanier was on board, starting with the 1979-80 season, when the 6-foot-10, 250-pound, 31-year-old was acquired by Bucks coach Don Nelson in an exchange for No. 1 picks. Milwaukee sent the No. 1 choice in 1977, Kent Benson, and the 1980 first-round pick (which later became future Bucks head coach Larry Drew) to the Pistons for Lanier.
Former Bucks forward Marques Johnson, the analyst for Bucks TV broadcasts on Bally Sports Wisconsin, recalled sharing an elevator with Lanier right after the deal and immediately trading good-natured barbs about who would get the ball.
"We hit it off right away," Johnson said Wednesday. "He was just such a loveable, friendly, supportive – he was my guy. He gave us, tangibly on the court, just an element of toughness that we didn't bargain for."
Said Nelson, at the time of the trade: "I just feel that when the team is so close to being a contender, you have to do what's necessary to get that one gray area strengthened. We're strong at all the other positions, so this should give us a chance of doing very well in the playoffs. This year. We're completely looking at this year. Lanier could put us there, that's all."
Milwaukee averaged 53 wins during the seasons Lanier was in town. He remains second in franchise history in career field-goal percentage (.541) behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He averaged 15.1 points per game in the postseason.
"He was a tough, take no-nonsense from anybody from the opposition sort of player," Johnson said. "And that carried over to us, and it gave us that guy that had your back, that big guy that you went to battle with and you knew if some stuff went down he was gonna be right in the thick of things. He wasn't the quintessential enforcer back in those days because he was too good for that.
"And I always thought that if we would have gotten him a year or two sooner before the knees were really bad; he wasn't the 25-point a game, 13-, 14-rebound a game Bob Lanier that he had been in his prime years. But he was still great. Just intelligent beyond comparison in terms of his understanding of the game, his understanding of people."
Although he never reached an NBA Finals in his storied career, Lanier did play in 45 playoff games with Milwaukee, more than double the amount during his tenure in Detroit. That included a 1983 sweep of the talent-rich Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
"I can't describe it," Lanier said after the 4-0 series win. "I'm in a dream trying to figure out if this is all real. If I'm asleep, I don't want to wake up."
The Celtics eliminated the Bucks in the 1984 Eastern Conference finals, marking the final games of Lanier's career. He was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 1992.
Johnson laughed thinking back to three-point shooting competitions Lanier would win against Junior Bridgeman in practices, with Lanier setting down his cigarette to best one of the Bucks' best shooters. Johnson also said he could never beat Lanier in tennis.
"He was an incredible force of nature that I just really enjoyed my time with here in Milwaukee and he'll be sorely missed," Johnson said.
Were it not for injuries, Lanier's place in basketball lore might be loftier. He sustained a broken leg in the NCAA Tournament in his final year of college at St. Bonaventure, costing the Bonnies a chance at the 1970 title and leading to the first of his eight knee surgeries. Bucks team doctor David Haskell once said the 36-year-old Lanier had the knees of an 80-year-old.
"My knees ache every day," Lanier said in 1984 as he was pondering retirement. "The older I got, the worse it got. It was like a bad toothache, and when I started running and getting into the game, I didn't think about it. As I got older, it became much more difficult to do. In my search for a championship, I may have overstayed my career. I might have played one year too much in trying to think that maybe this was the year."
More:These are the Naismith Basketball Hall of Famers with connections to the Milwaukee Bucks
More:The winner-take-all battles in Milwaukee Bucks history haven't included much to smile about
Lanier received a number of awards for leadership and citizenry, including the NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in the 1977-78 season for outstanding community service and the 2007 National Civil Rights Museum Sports Legacy Award. He chaired the NBA's Stay in School program for six years after his retirement and was president of the NBA players association while he played.
In 2018, Lanier told one particularly impactful story to ExNBA.com about an experience he had in Milwaukee.
"I was still playing in Milwaukee and I was getting gas at a station on, I think it was Center Street. A guy came up to me and said, 'My dad is sick, and you're his favorite player. Could you come up to the house and say hello to him? The house is right next door.'
"So I went over, I went upstairs. The guy was laying there in his bed. His son said, 'This is Bob,' and he was like, 'I know.' And he just had a little smile, a twinkle in his eye. And he grabbed my hand and squeezed it and we said a little prayer.
"About two weeks later, his dad had died, and he left a card at the Bucks office, just saying 'Thank you for making one of my dad's final days into a good day.' "
Lanier's giant shoes became the stuff of legend. A bronze size-22 was added to the Hall of Fame collection before Lanier was even enshrined, though there was debate as to the actual size of his feet. In 1989, a Converse representative said he wore 18½, and the size-22 was a Korean size.
In one famous commercial for Miller Lite that Lanier did with fellow 1970 draft pick (and late-career Bucks player) Dave Cowens, the pair joked about his size-19 sneakers.
The Buffalo, New York, native was cut from his varsity basketball team as a sophomore but joined a local boys club and transformed into an all-city player as a junior, then all-state as a senior before earning a chance to play at St. Bonaventure.
“I accomplished most of the individual goals I ever dreamed of in this game,” he said in 1984. “But the ultimate reward is to be crowned champions. And if you don’t know what that feeling is, I think it leaves a void.”
When he retired just before the 1984-85 season with an announcement at the Milwaukee Hyatt Regency, he was 16th all-time in NBA scoring.
"Bob was one of the most popular players with Bucks fans and known throughout the community for his generosity and kindness," the Bucks said Wednesday in a statement. "We send our deepest condolences to Bob’s family and friends."
Lanier made eight all-star teams, including once with the Bucks, and was named MVP of the 1974 all-star game. He remains the Pistons' franchise leader in scoring average (22.7 points per game).
In 1995, Lanier was an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors for his old Bucks coach, Nelson, then took over as coach on an interim basis after Nelson resigned. Lanier went 12-25, and the Warriors found another coach after the season.
His son, Walter Lanier, remains an active pastor in Milwaukee and recently became president and CEO of the African American Leadership Alliance of Milwaukee | 2022-05-11T15:40:37Z | www.jsonline.com | Bob Lanier, Hall of Fame center for Bucks and Pistons, dies at 73 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/05/11/bob-lanier-hall-fame-center-bucks-and-pistons-dies-73/9729213002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/05/11/bob-lanier-hall-fame-center-bucks-and-pistons-dies-73/9729213002/ |
The Milky Way Drive-in in Franklin will return for a third season, starting with 'Spider-Man: No Way Home'
The Milky Way Drive-In, the outdoor movie theater in the parking lot next to the Milwaukee Milkmen's stadium in Franklin, is reopening for the 2022 season with 2021's biggest movie: "Spider-Man: No Way Home."
The Marvel movie, currently the sixth-highest-grossing movie of all time, is showing at 7:30 p.m. May 21.
Tickets at the Milky Way will again be $35 per carload.
According to the drive-in's website, the Milky Way is expected to be in operation through Oct. 30, on nights when the Milkmen are on the road.
RELATED:'Firestarter,' 'Happening' and 'Family Camp' are among the new movies opening in Milwaukee this weekend
The Milky Way debuted in 2020, during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the north parking lot at Ballpark Commons, 7900 Crystal Ridge Drive, next to Franklin Field, the Milkmen's home stadium. It was the first drive-in theater in the Milwaukee area in nearly 20 years. It returned for a second season in 2021.
One change from previous years' operations: Instead of ordering food through an app, snacks and beverages will be sold by concessions staff roaming the parking lot. (Food and drink carry-ins are still prohibited.)
Other movies scheduled for screening at the Milky Way so far for 2022:
May 21: 10:45 p.m., "Scream" (2022 version)
May 22: 5 p.m., "Encanto"
June 9: 6:30 p.m., "Jurassic Park" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" (double feature)
June 10: 6:30 p.m., "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"; 9:15 p.m., "Dune" (2021 version)
June 11: 5 p.m., "Clifford the Big Red Dog"; 7:30 p.m., "Sing 2"; 10:30 p.m., "Candyman" (2021 version)
June 12: 5 p.m., "PAW Patrol: The Movie"
For tickets, which are available online only, go to milkywaydrivein.com. | 2022-05-11T18:24:35Z | www.jsonline.com | Milky Way Drive-In returns for 3rd year with 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/movies/2022/05/11/milky-way-drive-returns-3rd-year-spider-man-no-way-home-franklin/9731870002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/movies/2022/05/11/milky-way-drive-returns-3rd-year-spider-man-no-way-home-franklin/9731870002/ |
Police exchange gunfire with suspect during foot chase in Milwaukee's Amani neighborhood
Milwaukee police exchanged gunfire with an individual who escaped arrest Tuesday.
Police said officers responded to a report of a person with a gun at 8:21 p.m. on the 3000 block of North 24th Place, in the Amani neighborhood on Milwaukee’s north side.
Upon arrival, officers encountered an armed individual, who fled on foot, police said. At one point, the suspect turned and discharged a firearm at officers, who returned fire.
The individual, who is known to police, escaped arrest, and it is unclear if they were injured in the shootings. No officers were injured.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Milwaukee police at 414-935-7360, or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 414-224-Tips or use the P3 Tips app. | 2022-05-11T18:24:53Z | www.jsonline.com | Milwaukee police exchange gunfire with suspect in Amani neighborhood | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/05/11/milwaukee-police-exchange-gunfire-suspect-amani-neighborhood/9732845002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/05/11/milwaukee-police-exchange-gunfire-suspect-amani-neighborhood/9732845002/ |
CINCINNATI – Soft-spoken and studious, Victor Caratini is usually a man in motion in the Milwaukee Brewers' clubhouse.
Many times he has a small notebook in his hands and chances are fellow catcher Omar Narváez is somewhere close by. The two have known each other since 2014, during their minor-league days, and already are fast friends.
"He’s a doctor. He’s got his glasses," Narváez joked. "If you see this guy out on the street, you’d never imagine he’s a catcher, a baseball player."
Caratini is also a quick study, which has been a necessity considering how fast things have moved for him since the Brewers acquired him from the San Diego Padres on April 6.
Milwaukee had an acute need for a backup behind Narváez after the man they signed to fill that role in the offseason, Pedro Severino, was suspended for 80 games April 5 for a positive PED test.
Caratini already had logged 362 major-league games since breaking in with the Chicago Cubs in 2017, and his ability to switch-hit gave his game an added dimension.
He joined the team on opening day at Wrigley Field and began his onboarding, only to hit pause April 26 when he was placed on the COVID-19 injured list.
Caratini was reinstated on May 1 and is just now settling into a comfort zone with the Brewers.
"I definitely feel comfortable now," Caratini said through interpreter Carlos Brizuela on Wednesday. "We have a pretty good chemistry and I’ve had the chance to work with all the different pitchers, and every day I get more comfortable."
Caratini made his 10th start behind the plate Tuesday and played a big role in Milwaukee's 5-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.
He threw out a would-be base-stealer in the third inning and then sandwiched a pair of singles around a walk in his final three plate appearances. His RBI single in the eighth loomed especially large as the Reds used a three-run rally in the bottom of the frame to make the Brewers sweat.
"Really solid. Really, really solid," is how manager Craig Counsell described Caratini after the game.
"He's working hard. Offensively, it's such a hard job playing like that when you're not getting regular at-bats and not playing back-to-back (games), but he's still doing a heck of a job offensively."
Added Narváez: "He’s one of those guys who keeps himself ready. He’s a hard worker. Where I’m at in my career I’m still learning things from other guys and I think this is the right guy to learn a lot of things from."
With a .258 average, a home run and four RBI in 11 games, Caratini has indeed held his own with the bat.
"I’ve got my routine down from the last few years," Caratini said when asked how he's able to perform despite sporadic playing time. "Just prepare every day, be ready, do my routine and be ready to play whenever I need to."
The challenge for a newcomer at catcher, of course, is learning a new pitching staff and calling games. That's where he's most impressed Narváez, who's no slouch in that regard while also rating as one of the game's top pitch framers.
"I always thought he called great games, and now I’ve had a chance to see it in person," he said of Caratini. "Now that I’m playing with him, I’ll chat with him about what he did the night before and what we’re going to do today, and he always has great comments.
"There are a lot of great things that come out of every conversation with him, and I’m really glad to have him here by our side."
Freddy Peralta, who improved to 2-1 on Tuesday after throwing to Caratini, also had high praise for the native of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Milwaukee is 4-6 in games started by Caratini, with pitchers posting a collective 3.74 earned run average.
He's also thrown out three of seven base-stealers for a 42.9% success rate.
"He's a smart guy behind the plate," Peralta said. "We're always focused and working together."
Caratini's calling card, without a doubt, is the fact he caught two no-hitters in a span of just eight months, the only no-hitters in that time frame.
The first came with the Cubs and against the Brewers at then-Miller Park on Sept. 13, 2020, when Alec Mills accomplished the feat.
"It was the first one, and you never forget it," Caratini said.
The second came April 9 of last season, when he teamed up with Joe Musgrove for the first no-hitter in San Diego history. That made him the first catcher in major-league history to catch consecutive no-hitters for two different teams.
"Definitely, it’s something that builds your confidence," he said. "You’re always looking forward to calling another one." | 2022-05-11T18:25:05Z | www.jsonline.com | Victor Caratini settling in as Milwaukee Brewers' backup catcher | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/05/11/victor-caratini-settling-milwaukee-brewers-backup-catcher/9729343002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/05/11/victor-caratini-settling-milwaukee-brewers-backup-catcher/9729343002/ |
The charges filed against Nicholas C. Matzen, 35, of Milwaukee, also include a count of hiding a corpse.
Rogers was last seen April 26 and was found dead nine days later in St. Francis.
More:What we know about Emily Rogers, the 23-year-old missing Milwaukee mother found dead in St. Francis | 2022-05-11T20:56:55Z | www.jsonline.com | Emily Rogers' former boyfriend Nicholas Matzen charged in her death | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/05/11/emily-rogers-former-boyfriend-nicholas-matzen-charged-her-death/9734304002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/05/11/emily-rogers-former-boyfriend-nicholas-matzen-charged-her-death/9734304002/ |
On the cusp of leaving the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Chancellor Rebecca Blank used a final news conference Wednesday to take somewhat of a victory lap, saying she is leaving the university on strong financial footing and in a much better place.
But she also took the opportunity to highlight “unfinished agenda” items, such as increasing diversity and students’ sense of belonging on campus.
“We’ve done a lot, but we haven’t moved the needle as far as I wished we would have,” said Blank, whose last day is May 27.
A campus climate survey this school year found about three-fourths of students feel like they belong, but students of color, those with disabilities and LGBTQ individuals responded less positively, according to preliminary results released this week.
The findings are similar to when UW-Madison last surveyed students about the campus climate in 2016. Blank said she considered that somewhat of a success amid the backdrop of a socially isolating pandemic and national protests against police brutality.
She said her successor, who has not been named, will need to come in with new ideas.
More:Five academics, including one internal candidate, will vie to be the next chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison
More:Former Foxconn exec Alan Yeung hired by UW-Madison's College of Engineering
Blank also lamented UW-Madison's highly regulated environment. When concrete panels fell off an academic building last year, for example, the process to fix the problem spanned months. The bureaucratic hoops UW-Madison has to jump through are something Blank won’t miss when she becomes president of Northwestern University this summer.
UW administrators have long said that other comparable institutions, both public and private, have more flexibility.
“As the competitive environment for top research universities becomes even more intense, it becomes more and more important that we have some of the freedoms to act in ways that our peers act,” she said. “I will not miss some of those constraints, the need to go through three sets of committees and five votes and the governor’s office in order to get approval to get something done.”
One of the longest-serving chancellors in recent UW-Madison history, Blank brought stability to an institution that has sometimes been used as a political punching bag and viewed as an ivory tower of elitism. Blank worked to counteract that image, showing how the university drives economic development across the state and solves problems through research.
She started a scholarship program that helps low-income Wisconsin students enroll, spearheaded a fundraising campaign that netted more than $4 billion and launched construction for a new school focused on computer and data science.
The UW Board of Regents is expected to pick the next chancellor among five finalists in the coming days or weeks. Blank’s advice to whomever succeeds her: Play the long game.
“Persistence and stubbornness helps a lot,” she told reporters Wednesday during her final news conference. “These problems (facing UW-Madison) are not problems that are going away. They’re not issues that are going to be resolved by something you do next month.”
Initially passed over for the UW-Madison chancellor job in 2008, Blank was hired in 2013. Donning one of her signature red jackets in Bascom Hall, Blank conceded that her loyalty will soon shift. Northwestern's homecoming game, scheduled for the first weekend of October, is against Wisconsin.
“While I’ve cheered as loudly as possible with the Badgers every time that I wear red, when I do get to Northwestern, I do expect to be cheering loudly for purple,” she said. | 2022-05-11T20:57:01Z | www.jsonline.com | UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank says she leaves school better off | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2022/05/11/uw-madison-chancellor-rebecca-blank-says-she-leaves-school-better-off/9734609002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2022/05/11/uw-madison-chancellor-rebecca-blank-says-she-leaves-school-better-off/9734609002/ |
Do rock legends do anything special to prepare for a big show? Not if you're bassist Gene Simmons or frontman Paul Stanley of KISS.
Not even vocal warm-ups or "any of that stuff," Simmons told the Journal Sentinel on Wednesday at a groundbreaking event for their new Rock & Brews music-themed restaurant at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino.
"We don't do that," Simmons said. "You have to keep it honest. And so you just dive into the deep end of the pool and make it happen."
After multiple delays over two years, KISS is performing Wednesday night at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater in Milwaukee as part of their End of the Road farewell tour.
To get ready for the show, Stanley said he's going to brush his teeth, comb his hair and then put on "a hell of a lot" of makeup.
"I just put on more makeup and higher heels than you ever wore," Simmons said. "They're literally 7 inches high. ... Wear about 40 pounds of additional armor and studs and all that stuff. And put on the best show in the world. Period."
When asked how Simmons felt about Wednesday's show, he said: "I'm going to be great. I don't know about the rest of the guys."
More:Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, KISS and more: 15 best May concerts in Milwaukee | 2022-05-11T23:16:06Z | www.jsonline.com | What KISS Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley said ahead of Milwaukee show | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/05/11/what-kiss-gene-simmons-paul-stanley-said-milwaukee-show-american-family-insurance-amphitheater/9737011002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/05/11/what-kiss-gene-simmons-paul-stanley-said-milwaukee-show-american-family-insurance-amphitheater/9737011002/ |
Democratic U.S. Sen. candidate Sarah Godlewski was in Washington, D.C., last week when news broke of a leaked draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion that would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
Godlewski rushed to the steps of the Supreme Court, posted a photo and video to Twitter and then returned two days later to cut a commercial, taking on the abortion issue and slamming Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson.
On Wednesday, Godlewski, the state treasurer, stepped up her criticism of Johnson and the potential court decision as she convened a discussion in Milwaukee.
"I never thought that this would happen in my lifetime. We're moving backwards," said Godlewski, who has been endorsed by EMILY's List, a group that backs women candidates who support abortion rights.
Johnson has said he believes life begins at conception and that if the high court draft becomes the final decision he would "agree with that outcome." He later said Wisconsin's near-total ban on abortions under an 1849 law would not last long if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
On Wednesday, Johnson told the Wall Street Journal he expected abortion would be a nonissue in the campaign.
“It might be a little messy for some people, but abortion is not going away,” Johnson said, suggesting people in Wisconsin would still have options, such as driving across state lines to Illinois. “I just don’t think this is going to be the big political issue everybody thinks it is, because it’s not going to be that big a change.”
Godlewski countered, "For someone to say this is not going to be an issue, you're completely disconnected from Wisconsin.
"If he actually had conversations with women, if he had conversations with families, he would understand these are things they are facing," she said. "What do Wisconsinites not want, politicians making health care choices for them. And Ron Johnson is saying, let's just throw liberty out the window, let's have politicians make those kinds of health care choices for women." | 2022-05-11T23:16:12Z | www.jsonline.com | Sarah Godlewski steps up criticism against Ron Johnson over abortion | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/05/11/sarah-godlewski-steps-up-criticism-against-ron-johnson-over-abortion/9733791002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/05/11/sarah-godlewski-steps-up-criticism-against-ron-johnson-over-abortion/9733791002/ |
The best-of-seven series is tied 2-2. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
Follow our live coverage from TD Garden below.
Khris Middleton injury update: Bucks forward makes progress
Khris Middleton has remained a spectator with a left knee injury during games as the Bucks have progressed through the series against the Celtics, but he has been able to get on the court in recent days.
"We're feeling good about where he is and optimistic," Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said before Wednesday's game. "But, you know, it's kind of the same update it's been for the last handful of days."
Middleton sprained his medial collateral ligament (MCL) in Game 2 against Chicago in the first-round on April 20. He was immediately ruled out of the first four games of the Boston series but Budenholzer wouldn't do so for the rest of the series against the Celtics. Game 6 is in Milwaukee on Friday. If a Game 7 is necessary, it will be on Sunday.
More:Bob Lanier, who spent the final seasons of his Hall of Fame career with the Milwaukee Bucks, dies at 73 | 2022-05-11T23:16:30Z | www.jsonline.com | Bucks vs. Celtics game 5 score, live updates in Boston for NBA playoff | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/05/11/bucks-vs-celtics-game-5-score-live-updates-boston-nba-playoffs-eastern-conference-semifinals-tnt/9729466002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/05/11/bucks-vs-celtics-game-5-score-live-updates-boston-nba-playoffs-eastern-conference-semifinals-tnt/9729466002/ |
Ahead of their show at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater on Wednesday, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS were at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino.
No, not to play The Northern Light Theater or slot machines. But rather, to be a part of a groundbreaking event for their new rock music-themed restaurant that will be opening on the third floor of the casino.
"Where there's no Rock & Brews, there's a void," Stanley told the Journal Sentinel. "When you can do something that enhances a community, makes you a neighbor and brings great food, great drinks, it's really something special."
More:Potawatomi Hotel & Casino is adding 1,800 more slots, a Starbucks Coffee — and a restaurant from two members of the rock band KISS.
More:Sports betting is coming to Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in Milwaukee under a new agreement between the tribe, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers
More:What Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley of KISS had to say ahead of their Milwaukee show
Rock & Brews, which has locations across the country, will feature "American classics with a twist," according to a news release. That includes burgers, sandwiches, pizzas and more.
Stanley said he could go "on and on" about the food. The fish tacos and pizza are "crazy good," he said, and the Strawberry Fields salad is great.
Simmons gushed over the "Purple Rain Drops," which according to the restaurant's website are French beignet-style pastries that are filed with chocolate, drizzled with raspberry and dusted with powdered sugar. Patrons can dip them into a house-made whipped cream.
And we can't forget the beer.
"Yes, this is beer city. We know that," Stanley said at the event. "And we know about the beer that made Milwaukee famous."
There will be 52 brews on tap, including local offerings.
"The good times start with that very first person who greets you," Simmons said. "I can go to a nice place ... and if you've got an a-hole who greets you, the whole experience goes down the drain. So we're very careful about who we associate with. That's the most important thing."
The 6,500-square-foot restaurant will have seating for more than 200 people, a double-sided bar with gaming machines, and a stage for live music, a news release said. There will also be a private dining room for parties and events.
"If you fulfill your own needs, you fulfill the needs of others," Stanley said. That's why he co-founded the restaurant chain with Simmons and their other business partners.
When Stanley started having kids, he said he had to take them to a place with "cardboard pizza" and a person dressed as a giant rat.
On the contrary, he said, Rock & Brews will offer "great food" and have "an atmosphere of rock and roll and all the music that we love," while still being family-friendly.
Speaking of family, that's how the Potawatomi team has been treating the Rock & Brews crew, Simmons said.
At the event, Dominic Ortiz, Potawatomi Hotel & Casino's chief executive officer and general manager, said he "couldn't be more happy."
"Thank you for being here, thank you for being a part of the community and who you are — the humility, the people, the genuineness of you," Ortiz said. "We couldn't find a better partnership for this city. So, rock on."
Rock & Brews will be located off the parking ramp skywalk as guests enter the casino. It plans to make its debut by September of this year, according to a news release.
The restaurant is part of a $100 million renovation project that will also include over 1,800 more slot machines; a full-service Starbucks; three new “quick service” food and beverage stations; a new room for high-limit gamblers; and more. The project is expected to be completed by spring 2023.
"This project is just another example of how the Potawatomi continue to invest and better the communities that we all call home," Ned Daniels, Jr., chairman of the Forest County Potawatomi, said at the event. | 2022-05-12T01:26:25Z | www.jsonline.com | KISS' Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley open Rock & Brews at Potawatomi | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/dining/2022/05/11/kiss-gene-simmons-paul-stanley-open-rock-brews-potawatomi/9732218002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/dining/2022/05/11/kiss-gene-simmons-paul-stanley-open-rock-brews-potawatomi/9732218002/ |
Charles Barkley loves Giannis Antetokounmpo and has praised last year's NBA Finals MVP all season.
But Barkley says the reason the Bucks have struggled on offense during their Eastern Conference playoff series in 2022 against the Boston Celtics is because they're missing "their closer."
"As great as Giannis is and this is going to come off the wrong way, but (Khris) Middleton is their best one-on-one player," Barkley said on TNT's pre-game show before Game 5.
Middleton, of course, hasn't played all series after suffering an MCL sprain during the first-round series against the Chicago Bulls.
"He’s their closer," Barkley reiterated. "They're missing their closer."
Barkley said the Bucks are playing too much one-on-one offense and not moving the ball enough, which in turn is affecting their defense.
"That’s when they really miss Middleton," Barkley said.
The Bucks gave up 43 points in the fourth quarter in Game 4 as the Celtics shot 84.5% from the field to win 116-108.
Barkley said the Bucks need more contributions from other role players.
Kenny Smith, who has predicted the Celtics will win the series, said with Middleton out Jrue Holiday, who shot 31 times in Game 3, is taking on a bigger role than usual.
As far as predictions, Ernie Johnson predicted Game 5 was going to be "a classic" that would go to overtime.
Barkley still predicted the Bucks would win Game 5.
More:Bucks vs. Celtics playoff schedule, TV, live stream for the 2022 Eastern Conference semifinal series | 2022-05-12T01:26:37Z | www.jsonline.com | Charles Barkley says Khris Middleton is Bucks closer on TNT pre-game | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/05/11/charles-barkley-says-khris-middleton-milwaukee-bucks-closer-tnt-pre-game-5/9727553002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/05/11/charles-barkley-says-khris-middleton-milwaukee-bucks-closer-tnt-pre-game-5/9727553002/ |
The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office said a wrong-way driver on I-43 crashed into a vehicle, killing both drivers.
Shortly before 2 a.m. Wednesday, sheriff's deputies were dispatched to southbound I-43, just south of South Chase Avenue for reports of a serious crash blocking all lanes of traffic.
The preliminary investigation determined the crash occurred after 27-year-old Ivy Caldwell was driving north in the southbound lanes when she hit 19-year-old Tyler Anderson, according to the sheriff's office and Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office.
Both Caldwell and Anderson were pronounced dead a short time after deputies arrived.
It is unclear where Caldwell entered the highway. An investigation into the crash and the deaths is ongoing, the sheriff's office said. | 2022-05-12T05:25:36Z | www.jsonline.com | Wrong-way driver crashes into a vehicle on I-43, killing both drivers | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2022/05/11/wrong-way-driver-crashes-into-vehicle-43-killing-both-drivers/9741212002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2022/05/11/wrong-way-driver-crashes-into-vehicle-43-killing-both-drivers/9741212002/ |
You can still buy Bucks playoff tickets for Game 6 of the NBA second-round playoff series at Fiserv Forum
It was somewhat like watching the fourth quarter of Game 4, but in reverse.
Two nights after the Boston Celtics rallied from a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit at Fiserv Forum to steal home-court advantage back in the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals playoff series, the Bucks came back from a 14-point hole in the final 12 minutes in Boston as their 110-107 Game 5 victory suddenly set up a potential clinching Game 6 Friday night.
That's right, a possible series-winning game at home. Here's what the ticket situation looks like.
Are tickets available for Game 6 of Bucks vs. Celtics at Fiserv Forum?
As of 10 p.m. Wednesday night, some regular-priced tickets still remained with upper-level tickets starting at $201 plus service charges and lower-level tickets starting at $366.
There were also a few tickets on the resale market below $200 Wednesday night with standing room only space starting at $121.
Tickets on the floor within an audible call of Aaron Rodgers' back shoulder (if he decides to attend the big game) appear to begin at about $4,500. | 2022-05-12T05:25:42Z | www.jsonline.com | How to buy tickets to Milwaukee Bucks' NBA playoff series vs. Celtics | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/05/11/how-buy-tickets-milwaukee-bucks-nba-playoff-series-vs-celtics/9740957002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/05/11/how-buy-tickets-milwaukee-bucks-nba-playoff-series-vs-celtics/9740957002/ |
WAUKESHA - The land looks like nothing special, essentially a large square lot of grass mostly surrounded by older homes. But looks can be deceiving.
The 3.77 acres, bounded by Oakland Avenue, Ellis Street and Greenfield Avenue, in central Waukesha represents Habitat for Humanity of Waukesha County's biggest step forward, a developable parcel suitable for 18 homes, all owned by families or individuals on tight incomes who might not otherwise afford single-family residences.
For the first time, the nonprofit, also known as Habitat Waukesha, finds itself serving in the role of a developer, far different than its traditional role of building homes in scattered fashion — and, as part of the process, even converting a former industrial property once owned by Aeroshade Inc. into a residential development.
It's envisioned as a three-year endeavor, matching buyers who take a hands-on role in the construction process as part of Habitat Waukesha's unique program that also involves volunteer builders.
"It is the largest one-site development in Habitat Waukesha's history," said Melissa Songco, chief executive officer for the organization's Waukesha County branch. "The reason why Aeroshade is especially attractive to us is that it can be a more strategic, longer-term project where we know what we are going to be doing, what we are going to be building for the next three years."
Songco noted that Habitat Waukesha is no stranger to the city of Waukesha, where most of its homes have been built as part of its mission. In all, 43 have been built locally, occasionally clustered into a neighborhood.
But 18 all in one square block? That's new territory.
The project is a major shift for Habitat for Humanity
Still, it's a work in progress, partly because of how new such an effort is for an organization that usually finds individual open lots or homes to renovate.
The land was previously home to Aeroshade, a century-old window treatment company that operated a nondescript factory there until it closed in 2015. The factory, at 433 N. Oakland Ave., was demolished in 2017, leaving an open field that was put on the market for residential development.
Waukesha city officials anticipated a developer would step forward with a proposal to build a residential subdivision. That didn't happen.
By December 2021, when Habitat for Humanity's board of directors authorized Songco to submit an offer to purchase, it became clear other developers simply were lukewarm on the idea of single-family homes, as the updated zoning for the property favored.
That was all well and fine, except for the fact that Habitat for Humanity's history of reusing existing city lots, complete with all the infrastructure already in place, left it unprepared to transform the Aeroshade property on its own.
"At Habitat for Humanity, we're really good at building homes with volunteers," Songco said. "We're not so good at putting in pipes and utilities and getting the site ready — developing the track of land."
She was introduced to Jim Tarantino, the founder and principal partner in Capri Communities, a business known for its senior living facilities regionally, and a sister firm, Tarantino Companies. More importantly, Tarantino is very much an experienced developer.
Songco said Tarantino was willing to serve as the practical developer in those areas outside the usual scope of Habitat Waukesha's homebuilding routine, even offering technical assistance. She thinks she understands why.
"Jim is a great community guy and big advocate for Waukesha," Songco said, adding that his company also is providing upfront financing to help the organization close on the sale.
At this point, however, it's not a done deal.
"We don't actually own the property yet," Songco said, noting that the due diligence period for backing up the offer ends July 1. "Right now, we're going through the process of getting all the approvals we need, doing the fundraising for both private and public support and making sure everything lines up."
The plan has received preliminary support from the city for a planned urban development that includes two duplexes among the single-family residences.
Who's eligible for a Habitat for Humanity home?
It may not be an easy mission, but Habitat for Humanity keeps an eye on why it is doing it in the first place.
As measured by numbers, each Habitat for Humanity homeowner earns only 30% to 80% of the area's median income.
For instance, according to Habitat Waukesha's website, a single individual must earn no less than about $26,000 and no more than about $47,000, based on 2020-21 median income data, to be eligible for help from the nonprofit. For a family of four, the range would be about $38,000 to $68,000.
There are other qualifying factors, including the ability to dedicate 30% of gross monthly household income to the eventual mortgage.
And, most famously, is the "sweat equity" provision. Would-be homeowners must be willing to complete 250 hours by attending classes and workshops, working at the Habitat ReStore, participating in Habitat or ReStore events, and getting involved with the construction of their homes as well as the homes of others.
The organization's mission also dovetailed nicely with a city initiative discussed in recent years to increase its stock of affordable housing in Waukesha. The city included the need for such housing among needs addressed in a housing survey and study four years ago.
For Stephanie Morrison, a single mom of three children who is in line for one of the homes on the Aeroshade property, even the question of what Habitat Waukesha's program means to her emits tears.
"Sorry, I get emotional about it," Morrison said through the tears. "This, for me and my three kids and being a single parent, is like a dream I didn't think I would be able to give them. And it's an amazing program to help anyone and everyone. It's a great thing that they do."
She learned about what could be an opportunity for her family from a co-worker, who owned a Habitat for Humanity home in Milwaukee County. Eventually, she looked into it, but fretted about her credit history. Her first application did not land her a Habitat home, but found out in March that her renewed application made her eligible for a home, if the Aeroshade deal comes to fruition.
Habitat has already built dozens of homes in Waukesha
While the Aeroshade land would mark a new phase in Habitat for Humanity's efforts, the organization has already built 43 homes in Waukesha, including some prominent old neighborhoods in the city.
Clusters of Habitat homes now stand on both White Rock Avenue and off West Avenue.
For those watching closely enough, the White Rock homes don't come as a surprise, given the frequent construction projects in recent years that have been evident to anyone driving along the busy road that leads into the heart of the city's downtown.
"We're proud of the work we have done on White Rock," Songco said.
In fact, so are city officials, who in concert with Habitat for Humanity's projects designated the entire neighborhood as a tax-incremental financing district, investing new property dollars generated by the improved properties to pay off certain debt accrued to jumpstart improvements all along White Rock.
The work on West Avenue a decade ago also involved multiple Habitat duplex homes, though not to the extent of the proposed Aeroshade project. The organization included several homes in a redevelopment led by for-profit developers on land that was once the Waukesha YWCA and aided by a $900,000 neighborhood stabilization federal grant.
Another six townhomes are being built off White Rock Avenue.
What are Habitat's long-term goals?
It's no secret real estate prices have skyrocketed in an extended era of low interest rates, and that reality has affected Habitat for Humanity's goal of bringing affordable housing to its targeted homeowner.
Habitat for Humanity usually depends on the acquisition of older homes for demolition or renovation, which means the price generally has to be low enough for the project to become feasible.
"As you can imagine, we're kind of cobbling together projects for the year, and they don't always come together at the right time, and right now it's very difficult to obtain property because everyone thinks their home is worth a lot, and in some cases that's true," Songco said. "But we don't have the resources to pay top dollar for land."
That's another reason the Aeroshade project comes at a perfect time, allowing Habitat for Humanity to build a collection of homes on now-vacant land, she added. And Habitat Waukesha won't stop there.
"Even before Aeroshade, it's kind of crazy in that I have to be thinking about what's next," Songco said. "It takes a long time for projects to come together. ... In about 10 years, we want to be building 20 homes a year, doing 30 repairs a year in three communities."
The effort would hopefully put Habitat homes in places outside the city of Waukesha, furthering the organization's reach, she said.
More:Focus on Energy helps homeowners with rebates, improved efficiency. Activists want to expand it to help renters as well.
More:A Milwaukee nonprofit economic development executive has been appointed as the new head of Wisconsin's housing development authority | 2022-05-12T11:34:56Z | www.jsonline.com | Habitat for Humanity plans to build low-income housing in Waukesha | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/waukesha/2022/05/12/habitat-humanity-plans-build-low-income-housing-waukesha/9655336002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/waukesha/2022/05/12/habitat-humanity-plans-build-low-income-housing-waukesha/9655336002/ |
At Home With Kathleen Stanislawski and Frank Paul
Kathleen Stanislawski can walk into her gardens any time day or night and step back in time.
She can relax near a group of women dressed in Victorian-era garb who are having tea, or look at a woman and a child from that same era who look like they are twirling together. There’s a woman peeling apples, too, with two little girls nearby to help her.
Her gardens are magical, to be sure, and are filled with life-size statues made by Nancy Lindsey-Janusz, the late artist who had lived in the house before her.
They’re the reason she fell in love with the artist's home in Muskego and the gardens that surround it years ago. She calls living there a dream come true.
“When I was younger, my brother lived next door with his wife and his four children. Later, our mother moved in with him. Then, I lived in California and I would come back here three to four times a year to visit.
“When I was here, I would see the statues, and I got interested in them. I would bring my nieces over and we would walk around, and Nancy was fine with us doing it. I always said, ‘Nancy, if you ever sell this property, let me know.’ But she would always say she would never move, so owning it seemed like a far-fetched dream to me,” Stanislawski said.
Then, in 2008, a relative of Stanislawski's called to say the Victorian farmhouse she loved was for sale.
“That was on a Wednesday, and by Friday, I was on a plane here to see it. When I got here, Nancy was showing the property to people, and she was so happy to see me because the other people going through the house were saying things like, ‘I would knock these walls out, and I would change this or that.’ She knew I would keep this house as true as possible, so she sold it to me,” she said.
RELATED:In a Third Ward condo situated for spectacular views, she adds oodles of her own flower art
After the purchase, Lindsey-Janusz moved to a smaller home, and she took all but one set of the statues with her.
“She left me the grouping I call the mother and daughter that look like they are swirling in a circle. It was a gift. They’re close to the house, and I can see them from the dining room.”
Stanislawski rented the home out for three years. Then, in 2012, she moved in with Frank Paul, her partner of 12 years. Her mom, Rosemary Stanislawski, later moved in with her, too.
“Before I moved here I had had three different sets of renters and I was really lucky with them. … But after the third tenants left I knew my luck would run out sooner or later, so Frank and I moved here,” she said.
A few years later, Lindsey-Janusz moved to a home with no garden, and she asked Stanislawski if she wanted the rest of the statues. “That would be wonderful,” Stanislawski told her.
They were returned to the property, and Stanislawski and Paul have been maintaining them and loving them ever since.
Artwork all around
In the side yard are the two figurines that look like they are swirling around, and nearby are three women having tea at a table and a child bringing them cookies.
In the front yard, a woman holds a bird, and a little girl looks up at her and holds a doll behind her back.
Near the back of the property, there is a woman peeling apples with two children, a child giving a woman a flower, a woman holding a baby, and an Indigenous woman holding a bowl in each hand.
Lindsey-Janusz also made a life-size bronze statue near the driveway that looks like a woman holding her arms high, as if she just finished a race.
Stanislawski’s gardens (but not the interior of her home) will be featured in this year's Friends of the Muskego Library Garden Walk on June 25.
The couple, who are retired, began making improvements to the 1½-acre property as soon as they moved in. Stanislawski is a certified clinical herbalist, a certified nutritional counselor and a registered nurse.
Her brother, Dave (Stan) Stanislawski, a general contractor who owns Stansen Building and Remodeling in New Berlin, did some of the projects.
But, she said, repairs to the home, which was built in the mid-1800s, happened slowly, as they wanted to restore the home, not just update it. They also had to work within a budget.
Outside, they began cutting down small trees at the back of their lot.
“The woods were really close to the house, so we began removing some of the trees. … And there were no flowers or gardens here, so we began adding those. We also had the gravel driveway regraded,” she said.
Today the yard has a variety of trees, some large and very old. There are apple trees they planted along with a variety of bushes, perennial gardens, a large organic garden and herbs.
“This isn’t an immaculate garden. It’s a more rustic garden, more of a wild garden. I let my herbs grow where they want to grow. I have phlox coming up everywhere. I also have Queen Anne’s lace. I love it. I think it’s stunning."
“We harvest a lot of our apples, and I cook a lot with my herbs. I also make teas and extracts with them. Herbs and nutrition have been a passion of mine for many years,” she said.
Every year she harvests stinging nettles, her favorite herb. She also loves lemon balm, oat straw, lavender and Clary sage. For flowers, she favors iris, bee balm, delphinium, yarrow, holly hocks and lilac.
Repairs to the house started with the front and side porches, now painted in the style of a painted lady. An old stoop at the back of the house was turned into a quaint screened porch.
“We painted the porch railings dark brown, barnyard red, ivory and teal. I added teal to the spindles. I did that by hand. At one point I had to use a toothpick to get a proper edge. Doing that gave me a sense of satisfaction,” she said.
The body of the house and the trim were painted, too.
“It was a peachy salmon color. We changed it to an ivory color with deep red and deep brown accent colors.”
When they tackled the inside of their 1,800-square-foot home, they added support beams in the basement, replaced the water softener, iron filtration system, water pressure tank and water heater.
They also gutted the first-floor bathroom.
“It was a disaster. Now it’s very charming. We used fixtures that had a farmhouse style. When we worked in there we found a door that led to the parlor,” she said.
She recently talked about the home, gardens and statues she loves.
Question: Did Nancy Lindsey-Janusz see any of the changes you made to the property?
Answer: Yes. She said she loved the improvements. She came over several times to hang out. One day we had a statue maintenance day. She showed us how to mix the material and how to apply it. We got to know her pretty well.
Q: How were the statues made?
A: Nancy liked to work with metal. She did a lot of welding. She started with a metal support piece, and then shaped chicken wire around it. Then she put real clothing over that. She used clothing that was lacy looking because she wanted a lacy Victorian look. Then she would put white bonding cement over the clothing to make the cloth hard.
Every couple of years, I have to add more bonding cement. How often I do it depends on the weather.
Q: What statues or grouping of statues are your favorites?
A: The grouping I call the tea ladies. It’s my favorite because of my interest in tea and herbs. They are sitting at a table and the table and chairs were made of steel by Nancy. The arms on some of the statues are reaching out in different directions like they are having a conversation. In that group, there is also a little girl standing there holding a plate of cookies.
I also like the apple lady. That’s a lady sitting on a bench by the apple trees we planted, and she’s peeling apples and there’s a little girl sitting next to her. There’s another little girl in front of her, and she is bringing her more apples to peel.
Q: Some of the statues look like they would be holding things like baskets or cups. Were these items originally in the statues?
A: The tea ladies originally had tall cups in their hands. They disintegrated because of the weather. I often put teacups and plates out for the tea ladies. I’ll do that for the tour.
Q: Do people ever stop by and ask about the statues?
A: Yes. Constantly. It’s always interesting because a lot of times, we start talking about the house and the property.
Q: How long does it take you to maintain the statues?
A: This year I will be redoing them all for the tour. I usually do a few of them every year. I put a coat of white bonding cement over them. It takes me three to four hours each. It takes time because you have to get your brush into the pieces of lace. This year we also have to repair some of them, as they are cracking.
Q: Are all the statues in their original places?
A: No. We have moved some of them around. But now we don’t move them. They are really heavy, so you run the risk of them falling over.
Q: Are you the primary gardener here?
A: Yes, but my mom also helps out when she can, and Frank does all the hedge work and yard maintenance.
Q: Did Lindsey-Janusz add any artistic elements inside the house?
A: Nancy made a chandelier in the living room. It’s brass with amber-colored glass. There’s also art on the stairway. It looks like a braided rug going up the stairs. Upstairs, there are also braided rugs painted on the floor.
In the dining room, the walls were done with a light green/pale yellow sponge look. Over that she painted sunflowers, and near the door she painted a cat looking up at a birdhouse. And at the tops of the walls she wrote famous sayings about imagination.
Q: How is your home laid out?
A: Downstairs is the living room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom. A room that was originally the parlor, and was later used as a bedroom, is now Frank’s room. There is a door on the outside of the house that used to lead into that room.
I use the other bedroom as my herb room. I love that room. It has built-in shelves that I have all my herbs and books on. I love the bright blue color we painted it, and all the light that comes in.
Upstairs, we have two bedrooms and a bathroom. We were told our bedroom used to be two separate bedrooms. There’s a closet on each side of the room.
Q: What does your kitchen look like?
A: It’s very small. The cabinets are real low to the counter and are really tall. They have glass fronts. The only thing I might do in there is paint them. They’re an ivory color. I really love the kitchen a lot. It’s kind of funky.
Nancy created wallpaper with old recipes from cookbooks. She decoupaged them on the walls. She also made a floral design on one wall out of broken crockery.
Q: Are your living room floors original?
A: Yes, they are a hardwood and are real narrow boards. We have a carpet over it. A dream of ours is to refinish it.
Q: What are some of the amenities in your home?
A: The built-in dining room cabinet, all the original thick molding, the large walk-in attic for storage, the thick four- and six-panel doors, and the wainscoting. I also love the large windows. Some of them are lower to the ground.
Q: Any unique pieces of furniture in your home?
A: We do have some pieces from the Victorian era. I have my uncle’s table and chairs in the dining room, and in our bedroom we have a table from the early 1800s from Frank’s great-great-grandmother.
We also have some antiques we got at yard sales. We have an old dry sink in the dining room. Years ago, they would have had a pitcher and a bowl on it if they didn’t have indoor plumbing. Frank found it at a neighbor's; he was getting rid of it.
Q: Were any big projects done by previous owners?
A: One great thing was that Nancy put in all new windows and doors, a new furnace, and blow-in insulation in all the exterior walls.
Q: Do you know in what year your home was built?
A: No, but Frank said when it was built, Amish barn building techniques were used. You can tell by the way the support beams look in the basement. We also know it’s really old because when we had the bathroom redone, it was taken down to studs, and we could see all the wood was hand hewn.
It also has a fieldstone basement. It was a working farm. We still have the original smokehouse and chicken coop.
Q: What is your home made of?
A: It’s wood frame. It now has vinyl siding on it. We have pictures of the original house.
Do you, or does someone you know, have a cool, funky or exquisite living space that you’d like to see featured in At Home? Contact Joanne Kempinger Demski at .joanne.demsk@gmail.com.
What: Friends of the Muskego Library Garden Walk: A Bloomin' Good Thyme. Tour four private gardens in the Muskego area and participate in garden-related events. Sponsored by the Friends of the Muskego Public Library. Proceeds will help fund library programs.
When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 25.
Where: The homes are in Muskego.
Other events: Lecture by nationally known moss gardener Dale Sievert, perennial plant sale, sale of previously owned art, garden craft fair, silent auction and garden boutique. Attend the “Exclusive Garden Tea” for an additional $20. Tickets are available at the library or through the website.
Tickets: $15; children 14 and younger are free. Cash or check only.
For more information: See cityofmuskego.org/library. | 2022-05-12T13:59:29Z | www.jsonline.com | Muskego yard is packed with statues by artist who used to live there | https://www.jsonline.com/story/life/home-garden/at-home-with/2022/05/12/muskego-yard-packed-statues-artist-who-used-live-there/9662092002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/life/home-garden/at-home-with/2022/05/12/muskego-yard-packed-statues-artist-who-used-live-there/9662092002/ |
Faced with the daunting prospect of raising enough money to nearly double its $6.8 million budget, communities served by the Western Lakes Fire District will decide by the end of the month whether to put a referendum on the ballot that would raise property taxes enough to help the district deal with understaffing issues.
Those communities are the city of Oconomowoc, town of Oconomowoc, town of Merton, town of Ottawa, village of Dousman, village of Summit and village of Lac La Belle.
WLFD provides only emergency medical services to the town of Ashippun, town of Concord, town of Sullivan and village of Sullivan, which are not part of the proposed referendum area. WLFD Chief Brad Bowen said this is because formulas for fire and EMS services versus just EMS service differ greatly. The referendum uses the fire and EMS formula.
The department is asking for an additional $6.3 million to address severe staffing shortages.
The department considered two options for additional funding: a wheel tax or increasing property taxes, which are the only two ways the state will allow a community to generate additional revenue. To increase property taxes, a community would need to approve the measure via referendum, under the department's plan.
In deciding which option to pursue, the department conducted an options assessment.
At the WLFD May 11 meeting, Bill Foster, president of Community Perceptions, and Elizabeth Hummitzsch, of Mueller Communications, who helped put the options assessment together, detailed the findings from the assessment. They reported a 17% response rate, or just over 3,000 people. Both the wheel tax and referendum were asked about separately, asking residents if they were in favor, against or undecided on each, individually.
Far more people gave favorable responses to a referendum, with 62% in favor, 24% opposed and 14% undecided. For the wheel tax, 21% voted in favor, while 64% voted no and 15% were undecided.
"These results demonstrate the value Western Lakes residents place on high-quality fire and EMS services," said WLFD Chief Brad Bowen. "This data will be incredibly useful as we determine how best to move forward as a district."
More:Western Lakes Fire District, task force ask for additional $6.3 million to address staffing shortages
After the presentation, each municipality's representatives broke out for 30 minutes to discuss the findings. Once they returned, every municipality stated they were in favor of putting a referendum on the Aug. 9 ballot.
This does not mean the referendum is officially on the ballot yet. Each municipality must first vote on putting the referendum on the ballot at their own municipal meetings. The deadline for putting a referendum on the August ballot is May 31.
If a municipality chooses not to put the referendum on the ballot, the referendum would still appear on the ballot in municipalities that agreed to do so. If the referendum passes in the other municipalities, the outstanding municipality would have to determine how to contribute its share of the funds.
Bowen said the department is working with the Department of Revenue on the final numbers for each municipality. He added it is likely the numbers would remain as originally estimated.
As the numbers stand, property taxes could increase as little as $62 per $100,000 of value or as much as $160 per $100,000, depending on the municipality.
Firefighter and EMS staffing shortages have been worsening for decades around the country. The decline in volunteer and paid-on-call staff has coincided with a big increase in call volume. Bowen said this combination has led to strain on his staff.
Many departments around the state and the nation are searching for solutions. WLFD has been trying for five years to put the options assessment together with a task force that included representatives of each municipality and participate in other statewide studies around this topic.
"This has been building for decades," Bowen said. "We are not going 100% career (full-time) department, but even the combination model (full-time and part-time staff) is having to rely more on full-time personnel to fill the gap due to the decline of paid-on-call and volunteers and call volumes going up. Our people have reached burnout. It's not sustainable as it is."
The $6.3 million would cover 33 additional full-time firefighter and paramedics (11 per shift across the six stations), three additional battalion chiefs (one per shift), 15 paid interns (currently unpaid), a full-time administrative assistant and an additional fire inspector.
Bowen said this isn't a Band-Aid option that will lead to requests for more money and staff down the road. "This is a solution," he said.
"With this, we'll go from a moped to a Kia Sorento," Bowen added. "This is not the Cadillac option. This is our family-budget car. This is what need. It's our everyday, purposeful model." | 2022-05-12T18:22:10Z | www.jsonline.com | WLFD municipalities to vote on putting referendum on August ballot | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/2022/05/12/wlfd-municipalities-vote-putting-referendum-august-ballot/9744234002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/2022/05/12/wlfd-municipalities-vote-putting-referendum-august-ballot/9744234002/ |
The NBA draft combine next week in Chicago will have a distinct Wisconsin feel.
Several players with ties to the state are among the 76 prospects expected to be in attendance next Wednesday to Friday at Wintrust Area. Prospects will have interviews with teams, play in five-on-five games and participate in drills.
ESPN will have coverage of the event on Thursday and Friday.
The draft is June 23 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Here are the Wisconsin players:
Marquette's Justin Lewis
The combine will be very important to the future of the 6-foot-7 forward. Lewis is slated by most mock drafts as a late first-round or early second-round pick. The 20-year-old was named to the all-Big East first team and was also the conference's most improved player after averaging 17.1 points and 8 rebounds per game.
NBA teams like Lewis' physical tools, but scouts and general managers will be interested to see how Lewis fares against other elite prospects. Lewis has signed with a NCAA-approved agent to guide him through the draft process, so he can return to MU to improve his draft stock next season. Players have until June 1 to withdraw from the draft and return to college basketball.
More: How Justin Lewis put everything together in his second season
Wisconsin's Johnny Davis
The 6-foot-5 Davis is seen as a sure-fire lottery pick after a breakout sophomore season in which he averaged 19.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and was honored as the Big Ten player of the year.
NBA teams like Davis' fluid athleticism and how he led the nation in scoring against top-25 opponents during the regular season (24.1). But they will likely want to know how Davis has recovered from nagging injuries that slowed him late in the season.
More: Johnny Davis shows NBA talent can flourish at UW
UW-Milwaukee's Patrick Baldwin Jr.
Like Lewis, the combine will be huge for Baldwin after the highly touted 6-9 forward played in only 11 games for Panthers while averaging 12.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists. He was plagued by a left ankle injury suffered at Sussex Hamilton High School and also missed three games after contracting COVID-19.
Baldwin was seen as a top-10 pick heading into the season and most mock drafts now have him being selected late in the first round. His size, length and skills are still intriguing. While also digging into Baldwin's medical history, NBA teams want to know if he will perform better when surrounded by more talented players. Baldwin has textbook shooting mechanics, but shot just 26.6% on three-pointers at UWM.
More: Baldwin Jr. has no regrets about playing for his father at UWM
Wake Forest's Alondes Williams
Known as "ManMan," Williams has come a long way since averaging 12.3 points per game as a senior at Milwaukee Riverside High School. The 6-5 guard played two seasons at Triton Junior College and then was a role player at Oklahoma from 2019-21. He took advantage of an extra season of NCAA eligibility to transfer to Wake Forest and average 18.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists while being named the player of the year in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Williams will be 23 years old next month and is seen as a possible second-round pick. He has drawn interest with his thick frame and slashing ability. He shot just 40 for 142 (28.2%) on three-pointers at Wake Forest, so NBA teams will have to decide if he can improve on that.
G League Elite's Michael Foster Jr.
The 6-foot-8 Foster is another Milwaukee native with an interesting path. Foster left Milwaukee Washington High School after his sophomore season to play at Hillcrest Prep in Arizona. He pondered going the college route, but decided to play for the G League Ignite, the NBA's developmental team.
Foster average 14.8 points and 8.8 rebounds for the Ignite. He is predicted to be a second-round pick with teams needing to decide what his best position will be in the NBA. He has the potential to be a classic banger down low, but he will also need to show that he can develop a consistent outside shot.
More: Talented players don't have to play in college anymore
Kansas' Ochai Agbaji
The Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four makes the list because he was born in Milwaukee. His parents both played at UWM in the early 1990s.
The 6-5 Agbaji contemplated entering the draft last season, but dramatically improved his status after returning to college and leading the Jayhawks to a national championship. He averaged 18.8 points per game and was named the Big 12 player of the year. He is seen as a mid-first round pick with NBA teams liking him as a smooth shot-creator who is ready to contribute.
More: The Final Four MOP has Milwaukee roots | 2022-05-12T18:22:40Z | www.jsonline.com | Justin Lewis, Patrick Baldwin Jr., Johnny Davis will be at NBA combine | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/marquette/2022/05/12/justin-lewis-of-marquette-patrick-baldwin-of-uw-milwaukee-johnny-davis-of-wisconsin-at-nba-combine/9745959002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/marquette/2022/05/12/justin-lewis-of-marquette-patrick-baldwin-of-uw-milwaukee-johnny-davis-of-wisconsin-at-nba-combine/9745959002/ |
Following the heroics of Jrue Holiday and the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5, Friday's Game 6 between the Bucks and Boston Celtics is likely to produce a decent showing of fans on the Deer District plaza. The Bucks are setting a capacity limit of 11,000 fans for Friday night's festivities.
The Bucks are also encouraging fans to arrive early for Game 6. Gates for the watch party will open at 4:30 p.m., two hours before tip-off.
All fans will go through a magnetometer before entering the watch party and no bags are allowed (only wallets smaller than 4"x6"x1" are permitted).
Fans looking to attend the watch party should enter on the south side of the plaza near the intersection of Highland Avenue and Vel R. Phillips Avenue. Fans with tickets to Game 6 should enter on the north side of the plaza near the intersection of Juneau Avenue and Vel R. Phillips Avenue. Doors to Fiserv Forum open at 5 p.m. to ticketed fans.
More:Nickel: Here's why you should come to the dark side with me and embrace the Giannis Antetokounmpo three-point shots
The Bucks said limited tickets are still available for Game 6 at bucks.com/tickets. As of Thursday night, fans could purchase a standing-room-only ticket for $120 or a seat for $170.
Roughly 5,000 people packed into the Deer District for Game 3 of the series, which fell on a Saturday and the weather was great for May in Milwaukee. Friday's forecast calls for temperatures in the 70s, winds between 5 and 15 mph, and it's expected to stay dry.
The Bucks lead the series 3-2. If they win on Friday they advance to the Eastern Conference Finals again. | 2022-05-13T00:02:38Z | www.jsonline.com | Bucks set a capacity limit of 11,000 fans for Friday's nights Game 6 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/2022/05/12/bucks-set-capacity-limit-11-000-fans-fridays-nights-game-6/9752896002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/2022/05/12/bucks-set-capacity-limit-11-000-fans-fridays-nights-game-6/9752896002/ |
Third-party firm takes over management, operational control of Window Select
Corrinne Hess Alex Groth
After months of customer complaints and lawsuits, Window Select has hired a third-party consulting firm to assist with management of the company.
Cogent Analytics of Greensboro, North Carolina, has assumed complete management and operational control of Window Select. The company's current leadership team, including Justin Kiswardy, sales manager Kristy Russel and former general manager Ray Muldrew will take a step back from the business, according to a letter sent to customers.
The letter blames ongoing media reports of customers being scammed and employees not being paid for many of the problems Window Select is facing.
"The unfortunate ways in which others have chosen to portray Window Select over the last several weeks has been inaccurate, lacking context, one-sided and at times, unfair and damaging," the letter said. "Despite all this, our core business is still strong, and we remain focused and committed to our customers, our people and our partners."
More:Customers, former employees and the Green Bay Packers allegedly scammed and owed money by Menomonee Falls-based Window Select
Hundreds of customers have filed complaints against the company, saying they have paid for windows that were never delivered. Some of those customers have now filed a class-action lawsuit against the company. The Brown County Sheriff's Department has been bombarded with calls from angry customers. It is teaming up with the Menomonee Falls Police Department to investigate.
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection has received 115 customer complaints and is investigating the company.
The Better Business Bureau received 77 complaints about Window Select in the past three years, with 66 of those complaints filed in the last 12 months.
The company has declined to refute allegations against it, but said in its letter that while its "core business is still strong," the company engaged Cogent in January to work directly with management to assist with the operational and financial management of Window Select, including "re-engineering our operations, restructuring our finances, and enhancing our installation process."
This week, Cogent assumed complete control.
"We are committed to servicing and completing installation for all existing customers in the next five to six months, at the latest," the letter stated.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has reached out to Kiswardy multiple times over the last month via email, telephone and in person. He has not agreed to answer questions.
"While the last few weeks have been trying for our company, our sole focus was ensuring our customers were taken care of," the letter said.
A woman at Cogent who did not give her name said the company signed a nondisclosure agreement with Window Select and could not answer specific questions.
She said the business consulting company specializes in helping companies improve financial performance.
"Sometimes the need comes when a company is winding down, sometimes there are struggles because a company grows too fast," she said.
Meanwhile, Window Select posted a new advertisement Thursday on social media.
"Our customers know better than anyone how frustrating product delays are, but we're thankful for all of you who have trusted us to get the job done," the company wrote. | 2022-05-13T12:42:24Z | www.jsonline.com | Cogent Analytics takes over management of Window Select | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northwest/2022/05/13/cogent-analytics-takes-over-management-window-select/9746858002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northwest/2022/05/13/cogent-analytics-takes-over-management-window-select/9746858002/ |
Wisconsin's natural world is at risk. A bill pending in Congress would help protect it.
Dave Clutter
Each week seems to bring more dire news for our natural world. We recently learned that 20% of reptile species worldwide, including 60% of turtles, are at risk of extinction, and we’re on track for a mass die off of ocean life. And if that isn’t enough, we’ve seen a 30% decline in North American birds since 1970 — a loss of 3 billion birds.
But we can do something to turn the tide of nature’s decline.
Bipartisan federal legislation in Congress known as the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act would bring $18 million annually to Wisconsin to help save loons, Monarch butterflies, wood turtles and 400 other declining wildlife species and their habitats.
That’s up from less than $1 million annually today in Wisconsin. More federal money is badly needed after decades of underfunding our congressionally mandated State Wildlife Action Plan.
States and tribal nations throughout the country would receive $1.4 billion annually — paid for from existing revenues from environmental penalties — for voluntary, collaborative habitat work, scientific research, invasive species control, and other conservation efforts. The goal is to keep declining species from becoming endangered, and to help those that are endangered recover. Nationally, the legislation would help 12,000 declining or endangered wildlife species and their habitats.
This is a historic, once-in-a-generation opportunity to save wildlife well into the future.
Today, 30 very diverse, Wisconsin-based conservation organizations have come together to form the Wisconsin Coalition for Recovering America’s Wildlife Act. Along with 200 more organizations and businesses that have since signed on, we believe that this legislation is critical to protecting the wildlife we love and creating a world we hope to leave our children and grandchildren.
Please contact your senators and representatives to urge them to bring this bipartisan bill to the floor this May and vote yes. The bill needs to pass before Congress breaks for summer recess, or this opportunity may be lost.
The bill is one of the few pieces of bipartisan legislation, with 32 co-sponsors in the Senate — equally divided between Democrats and Republicans — and 173 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives (135 Democrats and 38 Republicans).
Wisconsin consistently ranks among the top states in the nation for bird and wildlife watching. In fact, Wisconsin’s ecosystems are the natural infrastructure underpinning our local economies and our $7.8 billion outdoor recreation industry. This legislation will strengthen our economic and environmental health and wellbeing.
Conservation efforts for 1,600 U.S. species already on the federal Endangered Species List would also get a financial boost. In Wisconsin, that could mean more help for whooping cranes, piping plovers, rusty patched bumble bees and more than two dozen other federally listed species.
And while this funding is targeted to declining, threatened and endangered “nongame” wildlife species (that is, those that are not legally hunted or fished), pheasants, deer, turkey, ducks, and other “game” species sharing the same habitats will benefit from the conservation work.
Reach out to members of Congress by May 20, Endangered Species Day, and urge them to bring this bill to the floor and vote for it.
Dave Clutter is executive director of the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin. Go to https://wicoalitionforrawa.org/ for more information. | 2022-05-13T12:42:44Z | www.jsonline.com | Recovering America’s Wildlife Act would help loons, butterflies | https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinion/2022/05/13/recovering-americas-wildlife-act-would-help-protect-loons-butterflies-turtles/9717736002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinion/2022/05/13/recovering-americas-wildlife-act-would-help-protect-loons-butterflies-turtles/9717736002/ |
PetSuites, a pet resort and spa, could soon be coming to Brookfield. It would be its first location in the state.
Brookfield pet owners could soon have a new pet resort and spa for their furry friends.
The Brookfield Plan Commission unanimously approved plans Monday for PetSuites to come to 3145 124th St. The business offers several amenities for dogs and cats, including play yards, above-ground pools and play structures.
"For 20 years, PetSuites has been the leader of the pack in pet resorts offering exceptional services for both dogs and cats, ranging from boarding and daycare to grooming and training," said a document from the development project manager.
The business will offer customers overnight boarding, daycare, grooming, training and limited retail services.
The business would also demolish and renovate certain portions of the existing building at the location. It plans to construct an addition for the lobby area, office and employee break room and would reconfigure and repave the parking lot at the location.
The outdoor play area would have a synthetic turf surface, shade structures and a 7-foot fence.
"The fence is designed for privacy and security and the material is appropriate for the use as it is extremely durable," the document said.
The business prides itself on cleanliness.
"Our staff is thoroughly trained and follows a series of operational protocols for pet care, grooming, training, cleaning, and solid waste disposal," the document said.
The first PetSuites opened in Kentucky in 2000. The business has since grown to more than 60 locations in 12 states.
This would be the first Wisconsin location.
"PetSuites began pursuing new sites in the Milwaukee area over 1 year ago with the City of Brookfield targeted as the ideal location for their first site in the marketplace," the document said.
The general hours of operation would be 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. PetSuites plans to employ 20 to 25 full- and part-time employees.
The plans will need to be approved by the Brookfield Common Council, likely during a May 18 meeting. | 2022-05-13T15:53:45Z | www.jsonline.com | PetSuites Brookfield: plan commission approves plans | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/west/news/brookfield/2022/05/13/petsuites-brookfield-plan-commission-approves-plans/9748905002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/west/news/brookfield/2022/05/13/petsuites-brookfield-plan-commission-approves-plans/9748905002/ |
In a major setback, a proposed music venue will no longer be built next to Maier Festival Park in Milwaukee's Third Ward.
In joint statements issued Friday, concert promoter FPC Live — the Madison-based division of Live Nation-backed Frank Productions — and Milwaukee World Festival Inc., the parent company to Summerfest that owns the land where the venue was to be constructed, said the project as announced will no longer proceed.
“The parties have determined for multiple reasons, not to pursue the site adjacent to Henry Maier Festival Park for this proposed venue," Milwaukee World Festival officials said in a statement. "MWF will continue to focus on its core business of producing Summerfest presented by American Family Insurance, as well as providing our community with a full summer calendar of ethnic and cultural festivals along with special events. This also includes an ongoing partnership with FPC to co-promote concerts at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater and BMO Harris Pavilion.”
“After a thorough process, we have determined that the site available near Henry Maier Festival Park is no longer under consideration for our proposed two-venue development in Milwaukee," Charlie Goldstone, president of FPC Live, said in a statement. "We remain committed to developing this state-of-the-art project in Milwaukee, preparing the city for the next several decades of live entertainment, and we will announce more details in due time. We remain dedicated to the Milwaukee live music landscape, we’re thrilled with our continuing partnership with MWF, and look forward to promoting concerts at the lakefront and throughout Milwaukee for years to come.”
In the joint statement, MWF and FPC Live said they would not provide any other information.
The proposed $40 million-plus project — a 108,000-square-foot site with a 4,000-capacity room and an 800-capacity room — was announced in December, with plans to begin construction this year. No formal approvals had been issued since the announcement, but last month, Frank Productions CEO Joel Plant suggested in a Journal Sentinel interview a 2023 opening was still possible.
Per the arrangement with MWF and zoning conditions for the site, FPC Live looked like it would be able to build the venue without input from the Milwaukee Common Council, aside from obtaining required entertainment and liquor licenses.
But the project drew some harsh opposition from residents in nearby condos, and also from other local music venue operators, and a campaign was launched, Save The Third Ward, to try to stop the project. | 2022-05-13T15:53:51Z | www.jsonline.com | FPC Live drops plan for Milwaukee music venue near Summerfest grounds | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/05/13/fpc-live-drops-plan-milwaukee-music-venue-near-summerfest-henry-maier-festival-park/9761681002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/05/13/fpc-live-drops-plan-milwaukee-music-venue-near-summerfest-henry-maier-festival-park/9761681002/ |
The road to Foxconn will be a little harder to find.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is renaming Wisconn Valley Way in Mount Pleasant to State Highway 311, according to a letter sent May 12 to Racine County residents.
The nearly three-mile stretch is located between Highway 11 and Highway KR.
Mark Niedzwiecki, an urban and regional planner with the Transportation Department, said the change is being made to make the highway more uniform with the rest of the state's highway system.
"This is just a continuation of the plan all along," Niedzwiecki said, adding that locally, the road will still be called "Wisconn Valley Way."
(The naming situation is similar to how in the Milwaukee area state Highway 145 is also known as Fond du Lac Avenue and Highway 190 is known as Capitol Drive.)
“Wisconn Valley" was the name coined by former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Foxconn CEO Terry Gou. At the time, Foxconn was promising to create 13,000 jobs in Wisconsin in exchange for nearly $3 billion in state tax credits.
Foxconn was also going to give $100 million to UW-Madison, build innovation centers across the state and open the company's North American headquarters in downtown Milwaukee.
None of those things have happened.
Foxconn has said it has invested approximately $900 million in Wisconsin, which includes a nearly 1-million-square-foot "advanced manufacturing" facility in the village of Mount Pleasant, a 300,000-square-foot "smart manufacturing center," a 120,000-square-foot "multipurpose building" and a 100-foot-tall "high performance computing data center globe."
But it has been unclear what type of day-to-day work is actually being done in those buildings.
In December, Foxconn qualified for nearly $30 million in Wisconsin tax credits for creating 579 eligible jobs and investing $266 million in the facility.
Today, Mount Pleasant officials say the $1.4 billion spent on infrastructure for Foxconn will be worth it. They're hoping to market the property to other companies, although Foxconn has control of much of the land in Mount Pleasant for eight more years.
More:Mount Pleasant officials hope to attract another company to the Foxconn site that they've spent millions to prepare
More:Foxconn touts value of its Racine County building that Oshkosh Corp. wanted to use to build trucks
Niedzwiecki said the situation with Foxconn has nothing to do with changing the name of Wisconn Valley Way. It is simply making it easier for the DOT to identify state-run highways.
Kelly Gallaher, who heads the watchdog group A Better Mount Pleasant disagrees.
"Sadly, Wisconsin taxpayers paid millions of dollars for a two-mile highway to nowhere," Gallaher said. "If only the Foxconn fiasco was so easily fixed for the people of Mount Pleasant by simply just changing the name." | 2022-05-13T15:54:03Z | www.jsonline.com | Wisconsin DOT renaming Foxconn Wisconn Valley Way to state Highway 311 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/2022/05/13/wisconsin-dot-renaming-foxconn-wisconn-valley-way-state-highway-311-mount-pleasant-racine/9760613002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/2022/05/13/wisconsin-dot-renaming-foxconn-wisconn-valley-way-state-highway-311-mount-pleasant-racine/9760613002/ |
The streets of Kabul were like a scene from a zombie movie.
One young Afghan woman had never seen her city like this: deserted and eerily silent, not a soul daring to venture outside.
Last August, the Taliban had taken over Afghanistan’s capital city, and this woman — who asked that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel refer to her only by her last name, Panahi — was carrying out a dangerous errand.
School representatives for a women’s university in Bangladesh had asked Panahi, a recent graduate, to retrieve nearly 150 students’ passports from a government office where they’d been sent for visa processing.
Documents were being systematically destroyed around the city, and school leaders knew the students likely would be trapped in Afghanistan without their passports.
The trip to the visa office was extraordinarily risky. Panahi believes if the Taliban caught her with stacks of passports belonging to young, educated women planning to flee, she could have been killed.
But she also felt a huge sense of responsibility to the students, and their futures.
“If I don't take this chance, if I don't do this right now, what if we (are) all stuck here?” she thought. “That's even more dangerous, to stay here.”
The trip was successful. She hid the passports in her basement when she got home and later returned them to each student.
Panahi’s efforts allowed 148 women to begin what would become a days-long, harrowing escape from Afghanistan. They'd go from the gates of the Kabul airport to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin, leaving their families behind.
The women since have been placed at universities around the U.S. Most have full-ride scholarships.
Panahi and eight other women are living with host families near the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, forging close bonds with one another as they confront the trauma of their journey and adjust to the shock of American culture.
As security conditions worsen in Afghanistan, the students are at once anxious for their families and driven to succeed in the U.S. They know how a degree and a paycheck could help everyone at home.
Still, a level of financial unease remains. UWM has said it can't afford to offer the women full rides. Nearby Eastbrook Church is funding the students' first semesters, but future scholarships are uncertain. Two English-language instructors who worked to bring the women to Milwaukee are crowdfunding their tuition.
The women remain resilient and focused on achieving the dreams they almost lost.
"The women in Afghanistan, we struggle a lot," Panahi said. "So we are not going to give up. We will try very hard again and again."
More:World-renowned Afghan women's rights activist Maryam Durani and her family begin a new life in Milwaukee
More:'Kids need kids': Program connects Afghan refugee children with Milwaukee buddies to help ease transition to life in America
Evacuated students attended university designed to develop women leaders
Long before the women boarded a cargo plane out of Kabul, they were fighting for their futures.
Panahi’s family didn’t want her to go to school, and she’d often enroll a month after classes began, having spent the whole month trying to persuade them to let her attend another year.
Even as a child, she had to pay for her own tuition, she said. Half the day, she weaved carpets to earn money, and the other half, she would go to school.
“Education was the only way that I could empower myself, I could raise my voice, I could do things that I want,” Panahi said.
After a semester at an Afghan university, and then a year away to work and earn money for her family, she was accepted at a specialized Bangladesh school called the Asian University for Women.
The school — which the evacuated students attended — is designed to develop women leaders who will return to serve their communities. Many of its students are from poor or rural backgrounds and are the first in their families to attend college.
Entering airport took five days, more than 40 hours on buses
When the Taliban took over Kabul, the Asian University for Women arranged a flight for the women to Bangladesh. But the students’ evacuation hinged on getting past the crowds and checkpoints outside the airport gates.
Panahi and some other students became leaders of seven buses that aimed to take everyone inside. The group had to turn back twice, facing threats, gunfire and a bombing.
On the buses, the students were told to keep quiet, and not to use their cellphones in case the light drew attention from outside.
Although they were traveling at night, the students didn’t sleep a minute as they peered from the windows to make sure no one got too close. They worried someone could place bombs under the buses, a common terrorism tactic in Afghanistan, Panahi said.
The suicide attack outside Abbey Gate that killed 13 U.S. service members and at least 170 Afghans occurred as the women were circling the airport on their second attempt. They were rattled but continued undeterred.
There was a chance the students would be killed if they got close to the gates, Panahi reasoned at the time. But if she stayed in Afghanistan, where women would be banned from the public sphere, she was certain her life would be over.
“That is, I think, death for me: When you are not able to do anything, and you cannot pursue your education, you cannot pursue your goals and your dreams. That's exactly when you start dying,” Panahi said.
During the second attempt, after they'd tried to enter the airport for 30 hours straight, the women were forced to turn back. A Taliban member boarded one of the buses and told the girls to leave or he would kill them. Another bus sustained gunfire.
Khatera, a 20-year-old Afghan student in the UWM cohort, thought, “maybe this is the end, we will die.”
She read a prayer for dying people. But she hung onto a flicker of hope that she’d live.
It was as if someone was telling her, “You will get into the airport, and you will have a bright future,” she said.
On the third and final attempt, Panahi took her 19-year-old sister with her. She was worried that the Taliban would find out she was responsible for coordinating the evacuation and they’d retaliate against her sister.
After 10 more hours on the buses, the group passed the airport gates. Everyone was in — except Panahi’s sister and two other women, who were stopped at a Taliban checkpoint.
This was a gut-wrenching development for Panahi.
She thought of “how hard I really worked for this group of students to save them. Now it’s (for) my sister that I can do nothing,” Panahi said.
Once inside, Panahi told an American soldier that three women were left behind. She waited for three hours as he worked to bring them into the airport.
Panahi’s friends said, “Let’s go, and tell your sister to go home.” Panahi refused.
Finally, the women were allowed to enter. Panahi cried with relief. “I saved everyone,” she thought.
The ordeal, which spanned five days in total, remains a traumatic memory for the women. Every night for two months after the evacuation, Panahi had nightmares that she was back on the bus.
Khatera recalled the journey, and leaving her family behind, as “the hardest thing that I can ever imagine in my life.” It’s also given her nightmares.
She regrets most that she didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to her siblings in person. She thinks of the phone call she had with her brother, just before she left, and how he cried.
More:Afghan evacuees in Wisconsin process relief, uncertainty, stress and trauma. A network of helping hands eases the journey.
Women became 'family of sisters' at Fort McCoy
When the women boarded the transport plane at last, they didn’t know where in the world they’d land. They had missed the initial flight to Bangladesh, and the U.S. military was tight-lipped about the aircraft’s final destination.
Once at Fort McCoy, the students joined more than 12,000 other Afghan evacuees who were placed there temporarily while awaiting resettlement elsewhere in the U.S.
The most difficult part, Panahi said, was seeing everyone else with their families.
The women banded together and became a “family of sisters,” she said.
Stuck on the base with little to do and no clear timeline for leaving, many of the women became depressed. To combat the boredom and homesickness, Khatera and some other students began providing English classes for children and their mothers.
She also helped in the sewing center, teaching women how to use the machines.
“It was a tough situation,” Khatera said. “But I'm glad that I was useful for my people.”
Panahi got involved with the English school, too, and began volunteering in the donations warehouse and interpreting for people at the legal clinic on base.
Keeping busy, Panahi said, “was the only way that we could just keep ourselves a little bit happy.”
More:Here's what you should know about Afghan evacuees as they leave military bases like Fort McCoy and are resettled in Wisconsin, across U.S.
More:Alan Borsuk: For Afghan 'guests' in Wisconsin, remembering the past is not easy. But on their path to asylum, it's essential.
English instructors led effort to bring students to Milwaukee
Shortly after the women arrived at Fort McCoy, UWM English-language instructors Mari Chevako and Brooke Haley heard about their journey from another professor in Delaware.
They were eager to help.
“I couldn't imagine being in a position to try and do something, and not do it,” said Haley, the director of the university’s English Language Academy.
UWM and nine other schools, including Arizona State, Brown and Cornell universities, would agree to enroll the students.
When UWM administrators said they couldn't offer the students full rides, Chevako turned to Eastbrook Church, where she is a member. Church leaders agreed to fund the spring and summer semesters of the intensive English program.
Several Eastbrook families also agreed to host the women at their homes, not knowing if it would be a one- or five-year commitment, Haley said.
“They have just swept the students up into their families, like they're their own kids,” Chevako said.
The students left Fort McCoy and arrived in Milwaukee just four days before Christmas. Haley and Chevako had planned a welcome celebration, but the omicron variant was surging.
So Haley cut up the big cake she’d made and dropped off pieces at each family’s home, meeting the women through masks and in the cold.
Host families provide support as women confront trauma of escape
Now, the eight students are finishing their first semester of the intensive English program, with goals to study medicine, economics, photography and more. Panahi, who finished her undergraduate degree in 2020, hopes to enroll in grad school.
Two sisters who initially settled in Utah with extended family will be joining the Milwaukee cohort this summer, bringing the total to 11 women.
After years working with international students, the two instructors know the realities of culture shock. But for the Afghan women, who didn’t know they’d end up in the U.S. when they boarded the plane out of Kabul, “you multiply that culture shock exponentially,” Chevako said.
Khatera, who hopes to study medicine, struggled initially with how to keep moving through her new life as she saw Afghanistan face increasingly dire hunger and security issues.
She has found key support in her host family.
“After leaving my country and my family, my host family was the first people in my life that really helped me to be the Khatera that was in Afghanistan,” she said: strong, courageous, passionate.
College graduate Panahi, who didn’t have the daily routine of attending classes, became withdrawn and sad in her first months in Milwaukee. Her 19-year-old sister is in the English-language program at UWM and living with a different host family.
Panahi was nervous for her family and friends back home, and anxious that she couldn’t do much to help them. It’s still difficult to stomach: how she’s safe in the U.S. but almost everyone she’s ever known is in danger.
“I wish I could help others, too, and make a better life for them, too, but I’m not in a position to help them right now. And that is kind of a deep pain for me,” Panahi said.
Panahi's host family has helped her find peace, she said. She told them she wanted to go swimming and play sports, and they enrolled her in a swim class and got her a membership at the UWM gym.
She said she missed speaking her language, and her host family connected her with a group of Iranians in Milwaukee who also speak Persian.
And in recent weeks, she started a job as an administrative coordinator at the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.
With so much outside her control, earning money to send to her family was one choice she could make, she said. She does want to continue her education, but right now her family needs her financial support, Panahi said.
Panahi holds a degree in finance and accounting and would study the same in graduate school. She also hopes to build a career in the field, while doing what she can to support Afghan women.
"I just don't want them to feel like this is the end of their life," she said.
Life in the U.S. can be tough, because even the moments of joy remind her of the struggles back home.
Once, intrigued by nightclubs, she went out for a night of dancing. In the restroom, she listened as the American girls complained about their nails and other “tiny, tiny issues.”
Panahi thought of what she'd been through, and the challenges women and girls in Afghanistan face. It was so different, and so much heavier.
More:Hmong professor didn't hold a pencil until age 8. Now she uses her talents to lift up and preserve the stories of her people.
Goals to help women, ethnic minorities fuel studies
For Khatera, aspirations of helping marginalized Afghans, especially women and persecuted Hazaras, motivate her to continue her education in Milwaukee.
A member of the Hazara ethnic group herself, she now hopes to become a doctor and start a foundation for the poor.
“Hazaras’ pain is my pain,” she said.
Khatera feels a duty to serve her community. She wants to teach them about their rights and how to stand up for themselves. She believes many in Afghanistan could harness their talents and make the country successful if they were given the chance to succeed.
“The Afghan young generation just needs an opportunity,” she said.
She hopes to return to Afghanistan one day, but the current security situation makes it impossible. She also would love to bring her family to the U.S., but a number of logistical challenges prevent it right now.
Tuition is main worry for students
On a recent sunny weekend, the Afghan students got together to take a walk in Doctors Park, and the conversation turned to their uncertain futures, since only two of their semesters are funded.
Panahi listened as one of the women joked that if she couldn’t get a scholarship to continue her education, she’d become a truck driver.
“I felt very broken when I heard that,” Panahi said.
Panahi sternly told the girls not to think about it, and to focus on studying.
Haley and Chevako, the English-language instructors, are leading the fundraising effort to pay for tuition for the remainder of the intensive English program as well as four-year undergraduate degrees.
By September, the instructors need to raise $92,000, the cost of the 10 students' fall tuition.
The students cannot apply for federal financial aid yet because they don’t have permanent residency status. Like most Afghan evacuees, they were brought to the U.S. last August under a provision called humanitarian parole that requires them to apply for asylum within a year. The asylum system is heavily backlogged.
The students are also looking for summer jobs to earn money to send home to their families.
Haley and Chevako have been heartened by the support the students have already received, from gift cards donated by fellow faculty to tuition discounts the university ended up offering.
And when they think of the Afghan women and their difficult journeys that led them to Milwaukee, they feel hope.
“I feel really inspired by their ability to keep moving forward,” Haley said.
To donate to the Afghan students' tuition fund, visit aspom.org. Anyone with leads on summer jobs for the students can email Brooke Haley at haleyb@uwm.edu. | 2022-05-13T15:54:09Z | www.jsonline.com | UW-Milwaukee Afghan students fight for education after evacuation | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/2022/05/13/uw-milwaukee-afghan-students-fight-education-after-evacuation-university-wisconsin/7421618001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/2022/05/13/uw-milwaukee-afghan-students-fight-education-after-evacuation-university-wisconsin/7421618001/ |
Franklin, Oconomowoc mayors make bet on inaugural Milkmen-DockHounds game
Two area mayors are stepping up to the plate for their minor league baseball teams.
The Lake Country DockHounds, based in the city of Oconomowoc, is the area's newest sports team. It has spent years building a stadium and team, and its inaugural season in the American Association of Professional Baseball finally gets underway tonight, with an away game.
For that game, they'll travel a short distance to play on the road against the area's other AAPB team: the Milwaukee Milkmen.
More:What you need to know for the Lake Country DockHounds inaugural season
In what will surely become a battle of the I-94 teams, the mayors of the two cities have decided to kick off the rivalry with a "friendly wager."
“We were originally going to wager a lifetime supply of lip balm for Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers but Mayor (Bob) Magnus wouldn’t have it,” Mayor Steve Olson said in a news release.
The "Wizard of Oz" reference is a nod to one of Oconomowoc's best-known claims to fame: It hosted one of the first preview showings of the "Wizard of Oz" movie in August 1939.
The lip balm refers to Carmex, one of Franklin's biggest exports.
In the end, the two leaders settled on a more dignified bet.
“Instead, we’ve agreed on the dunk tank challenge,” Magnus said. “If the Milkmen win the weekend series, which they’re not, I’ll get in some team gear and get in the dunk tank the next time the two teams play at Franklin Field. If the DockHounds win, Mayor Olson will rep Lake Country and get dunked.”
Clearly, bragging rights are also on the table.
“I’m excited to show Mayor Magnus why the city of Franklin is a great place to live, work and play,” Olson added. “I’m also confident that I won’t be getting in the dunk tank anytime soon.”
The rivalry begins Friday at Franklin Field in Franklin. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. | 2022-05-13T18:43:10Z | www.jsonline.com | Franklin, Oconomowoc mayors make bet for Milkmen-DockHounds game | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/2022/05/13/franklin-oconomowoc-mayors-make-bet-milkmen-dockhounds-game/9764677002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/2022/05/13/franklin-oconomowoc-mayors-make-bet-milkmen-dockhounds-game/9764677002/ |
Kendrick Lamar coming to Milwaukee for first time in seven years for 'The Big Steppers Tour'
One of the greatest rappers of all time is coming back to Milwaukee for his first show in the city in seven years.
Kendrick Lamar on Friday announced his "Big Steppers Tour" — a globe-trekking run across North America, Europe and Australia this July through December — with a stop at Fiserv Forum on Aug. 18.
Lamar's cousin Baby Keem — who just sold out a show at the Rave in April — and Tanna Leone will open the Milwaukee date.
Tickets go on sale to the general public at noon May 20 on Lamar's website, oklama.com, and at the box office and through Ticketmaster. Presales begin May 19 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. for Cash App users. Ticket prices have yet to be announced.
Lamar's last show was headlining Summerfest in 2015 at what was then known as the Marcus Amphitheater, for a special one-off show just a couple months after releasing his instant-classic third album "To Pimp a Butterfly."
In 2017, he released "Damn.," which became the first non-classical or jazz work to win a Pulitzer Prize for music. (The tour in support of that album never came through Milwaukee.)
On Friday, Lamar also released his highly anticipated fifth studio album "Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers," a stunning double album largely informed by the lingering damage of trauma. | 2022-05-13T18:43:14Z | www.jsonline.com | Kendrick Lamar coming to Milwaukee for 'The Big Steppers Tour' | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/05/13/kendrick-lamar-coming-milwaukee-fiserv-forum-the-big-steppers-tour/9763239002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/05/13/kendrick-lamar-coming-milwaukee-fiserv-forum-the-big-steppers-tour/9763239002/ |
Molly Beck Bruce Vielmetti
“I think it’s very wrong what Tate did and decided and I hope he changes his mind after this,” Nikkole Nelson, Johanna Balsewicz's daughter, said outside of Evers' office after the meeting. Nelson, who was present during her mother's murder, brought with her to the Capitol her 4-week-old daughter, who bears the same middle name as her grandmother.
"We're pretty certain this is going to be overturned," Karen Kannenberg, Balsewicz's sister, told reporters. "Let's just wait to see what's really going to happen, but what we heard in there, we feel really good that it's going to be overturned."
Douglas Balsewicz, 54, fatally stabbed his estranged wife Johanna more than 40 times in her West Allis home in 1997, while the couple's two small children were present. He was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, which carries a mandatory life sentence upon conviction. | 2022-05-13T18:43:48Z | www.jsonline.com | Evers urges parole chairman to reconsider release of Douglas Balsewicz | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2022/05/13/evers-urges-parole-chairman-reconsider-release-douglas-balsewicz/9763113002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2022/05/13/evers-urges-parole-chairman-reconsider-release-douglas-balsewicz/9763113002/ |
Long before Kevin Zeitler played at the University of Wisconsin and went to a long career in the National Football League, he learned the game during practices on rough grass fields that sat under electric lines just south of Wisconsin Lutheran High School.
Those fields are part of the massive upgrades the school broke ground for Friday morning. The project is scheduled to be complete at the end of August, Lutheran athletic director Jeff Sitz said.
The project will affect Lutheran’s 10 sports and activities and will be named Zeitler Stadium. Zeitler and his wife, Sara, both of whom graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran in 2008, were major donors to the project.
A member of the Baltimore Ravens, Zeitler will enter his 11th NFL season when camp opens this summer.
“In 2008, I thought the facilities were so high-tech, but we’re taking Wisco to the next level,” he said. “I can’t wait to see what it looks like when it’s finished and I’m excited for the future generation of athletes that come through here.”
More:Ravens' Kevin Zeitler, other NFL players help with funeral, medical expenses of Waukesha parade victims
The project will not only include the stadium and practice field to the south of the school, that is located near N. 84th Street and W. Bluemound Road, but also space to the east of the school.
Here is some of what's coming:
Turf for the field inside the stadium and for the multipurpose field to the south, which will be marked for use for softball, baseball, football and soccer.
A new surface for the track.
Batting cage/bullpen area for softball and baseball.
Athletic trainer facility.
Additional parking.
The project will provide 12,000 additional square feet for athletics and other activities. The improvements will allow the school to bring some of its softball and baseball practices back to campus.
The school will continue to play its home football games at Wisconsin Lutheran College, though it will play its homecoming game at the stadium next season.
The practice field was the part of the project that had Zeitler most excited. He and his wife will also eventually experience the facility as parents as they plan to send their children to the school.
“Way back when I was playing here, I never envisioned having the stadium named after me,” he said. “Obviously I’ve been very blessed and I’m excited to give back and lead by example and show if you work hard and you do things you have the God-given ability to do that great things can happen.” | 2022-05-13T21:15:30Z | www.jsonline.com | NFL's Kevin Zeitler helps Wisconsin Lutheran build athletic complex | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/high-schools/2022/05/13/nfls-kevin-zeitler-helps-wisconsin-lutheran-build-athletic-complex/9764937002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/high-schools/2022/05/13/nfls-kevin-zeitler-helps-wisconsin-lutheran-build-athletic-complex/9764937002/ |
Briefings begin with Milwaukee Common Council members on an agreement that could bring the 2024 Republican National Convention to the city
Common Council members are being briefed on a proposed agreement that could pave the way for the Republican Party to hold its 2024 national convention in Milwaukee.
The city is going through the step as Milwaukee and Nashville are the two finalists for the convention.
Insiders in Milwaukee are saying Nashville is involved in a similar process as the Republican National Committee is due to make its decision later this summer. Sources familiar with the process have characterized Milwaukee as being further along in the process than Nashville.
Peggy Williams-Smith, president and chief executive of VISIT Milwaukee, said before it makes its selection, the RNC wants "everything ready to go. The hotel package. The venue package. An agreement with the city."
Briefing of Common Council members began this week and will continue into next week. The briefings are being conducted by the mayor's office and other city agencies.
"I know they are making the rounds," Ald. Ashanti Hamilton said.
What's known as a master framework agreement could come before a special Steering and Rules Committee hearing as early as May 23.
The full council would have to approve any deal between the city and the Republican National Committee.
A similar package was agreed to when the city won the right to host the 2020 Democratic National Convention. That event was pared back significantly and turned into a mostly virtual event because of the pandemic.
Approval of the deal is not guaranteed in an often sharply divided council.
"I know there are some who are adamantly opposed to it and others who see the economic value of that number of people coming to the city," said Hamilton, who is still awaiting a briefing.
Ald. Michael Murphy backs getting the convention.
"It derives great national recognition for our city and provides a great shot in the arm for our businesses and community," Murphy said.
Ald. Robert Bauman, a critic of bringing the convention here, said: "I think it's blood money. These are people that basically don't respect democracy anymore not to mention what they have done to us at the state level."
Milwaukee officials have received three sets of potential dates for the 2024 convention: July 15-19, Aug. 19-23 and Aug. 26-30.
The main venues for the proposed convention, Fiserv Forum and a newly expanded Wisconsin Center, have availability on those dates. Williams-Smith said her organization is in the process of securing 16,000 rooms for the event. | 2022-05-13T23:34:23Z | www.jsonline.com | Milwaukee begins briefing Common Council members on proposed 2024 RNC | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/05/13/milwaukee-begins-briefing-common-council-members-proposed-2024-rnc/9768281002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/05/13/milwaukee-begins-briefing-common-council-members-proposed-2024-rnc/9768281002/ |
Ho-Chunk Beloit casino complex wins federal approval, clearing the way for construction to begin
Cary Spivak
The Ho-Chunk tribe's decade-old dream of opening a massive casino complex in Beloit cleared its last federal hurdle Friday when the Bureau of Indian Affairs gave the project its final blessing.
"This is tremendous," Ho-Chunk spokesman Ryan Greendeer said. "This is the final approval. From here we could start building."
The project has been in the works for about 10 years as the tribe, which is headquartered in Black River Falls, earlier negotiated agreements with state and local authorities. The tribe has several casinos in the state, including its flagship gambling hall near the Wisconsin Dells.
Gov. Tony Evers approved the $405 million project last year.
The federal government said Friday it would place 32-acres of land into trust to be used for the casino.
Earlier the BIA approved the casino plan saying it would benefit the tribe and the community.
Plans call for building the complex just west of Interstate 39/90. In addition to a casino the project plans call for building a convention center, hotel and a water park. The tribe has predicted it would create 1,300 permanent jobs and 3,000 construction jobs.
More:Gov. Tony Evers approves Ho-Chunk casino in Beloit that could become one of the state's largest gambling facilities
"The (Ho-Chunk) Nation sees this project as an investment to recover from pandemic and create new economic opportunities for everyone," Greendeer said.
“The Nation, our partners, and this community have been anticipating this moment for years,” says Karena Thundercloud, Ho-Chunk vice president said in a statement issued by the tribe and the city.
“There’s been some skepticism about the timeline because of the Nation’s reliance on the federal processes but we’ve been confident in the project’s viability and look forward to a bright future for Beloit, the state of Wisconsin, and the Ho-Chunk Nation.”
Sen. Tammy Baldwin noted the Biden Administration is the third administration the tribe has worked with in its efforts to win federal approval for the casino.
“The Ho-Chunk casino in Beloit will be an economic boon to the Rock County area, creating thousands of good paying jobs, supporting additional business development, and enabling long needed infrastructure improvements for the area” Baldwin said in a statement.
Baldwin said that in addition to creating jobs in the community and development will provide the Ho-Chunk "with a long-term source of revenue to provide essential housing, educational, and health programs for their members.”
The federal government has approved only a handful of off-reservation casinos across the nation. The Potawatomi casino in MIlwaukee is the only off-reservation casino in Wisconsin.
As governor Evers has unilateral authority to approve or veto any off-reservation casino in the state. About seven years ago, Evers' predecessor, Scott Walker, killed the Menominee tribe's bid to open a casino complex in Kenosha.
Contact Cary Spivak at (414) 550-0070 or cspivak@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @cspivak. | 2022-05-14T01:44:45Z | www.jsonline.com | Ho-Chunk plans to open Beloit casino complex clears its final hurdle | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2022/05/13/ho-chunk-plans-open-beloit-casino-complex-clears-its-final-hurdle/9769881002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2022/05/13/ho-chunk-plans-open-beloit-casino-complex-clears-its-final-hurdle/9769881002/ |
2 people shot outside Fiserv Forum following Game 6 between the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics
Videos shared on social media show hundreds of people running out of the Deer District shortly after the game ended. Earlier in the evening, the Bucks said 11,000 people were at the Deer District. | 2022-05-14T03:46:27Z | www.jsonline.com | Two people shot outside Fiserv Forum after Bucks NBA playoff Game 6 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/05/13/two-people-shot-outside-fiserv-forum-after-milwaukee-bucks-nba-playoff-game-6/9772856002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/05/13/two-people-shot-outside-fiserv-forum-after-milwaukee-bucks-nba-playoff-game-6/9772856002/ |
The Wauwatosa School Board president has abruptly resigned after he said he received a threat to him and his family
Evan Casey Alec Johnson
The Wauwatosa School Board president abruptly resigned Wednesday after receiving what he called a threat to him and his family.
Steve Doman's resignation came two days after several community members loudly called for it just minutes before he was re-elected as the school board's president for the second year in a row.
"I have a concern that the type of toxicity that you see in the board room will show up at my doorstep and that's why I decided to step down," Doman said Friday.
The calls for his resignation follow months of discussions related to a conflict of interest investigation involving a former district administrator. Some parents, as well as a current and former school board member, are also worried the board violated open meetings laws, according to a WITI-TV (Channel 6) report.
Some parents also voiced concerns about school safety Monday after police discovered students had brought a box cutter and a handgun to Wauwatosa West High School.
"(Doman) needs to be removed from his position, as school board (president). Gone," one man said during the meeting Monday night.
"Unfortunately, there is also a small group of community members and one board member that has chosen to create an environment where our board and administrative staff is no longer able to do their work to improve our district," Doman said in an email to a reporter.
Doman didn't discuss the specifics of the message he received which he perceived to be "a threat to the safety of me and my family."
"From my perspective, I just think if this type of toxicity continues, I'm afraid we're going to start to lose some great staff and keep people from working here," he said.
But Doman said his resignation didn't come because some community members called for it. "They certainly are valid in their concerns. My resignation wasn't in response to them," Doman said.
"Since COVID started it has been a regular occurrence for people to call for our resignation when they didn’t like our decisions but I never resigned before. I did now because of my heightened concern around safety," he added.
Wauwatosa School District Superintendent Demond Means sent an email to families of the district following the resignation.
"I would like to thank Mr. Doman for his service to the Wauwatosa School District,” Means wrote. “His unwavering commitment to ensuring access to high quality educational experiences for all students is greatly appreciated.”
The school board will likely meet soon to discuss the process for selecting someone to fill Doman's seat.
The Wauwatosa Police Department said Friday they haven't received a report or complaint yet from Doman regarding the threat.
The school board violated open meetings laws, a board member says
School Board member Mike Meier raised concerns about the open meetings conflict while Doman was president.
According to a letter from Meier’s attorney Ben Cross, the board violated an open meetings law when it met in closed session Dec. 9, 2021 to discuss Meier’s response to public records requests from Fox 6 News.
During that closed session meeting, a board member said Meier “overcomplied” with the records requests. Doman sent a letter Jan 27 to Meier criticizing Meier for his efforts responding to the request. He said Meier’s production of public records was a violation of the board’s bylaws and said he would not assign Meier to a board committee.
According to Cross, though, board confidentiality polices "do not supersede state law requiring the production of public records and prohibiting decision making at closed sessions.
"Unfortunately for Doman and others, Wisconsin law requires that Meier, Doman, i.e. every board member, and the board as a corporate body, 'over-disclose' records created in the course of the people’s business whether it is good, bad, or indifferent. Doman and others may not use the discretionary powers of a board president to enforce their incorrect theories of law. Such antidemocratic actions are easily challenged in the courts," Cross said in his letter.
However, Doman believes no such violations occurred.
"There's been no findings that I violated any open meetings law," Doman said. "I also acted in accordance with the advice of our legal counsel and beyond that, considering the threat of legal action by Mr. Meier, I don't want to say too much more," he added.
Meier said there have been no findings because there have been no complaints filed.
“If and when a complaint is filed with regard to the open meetings law, then the process would proceed to a finding,” Meier said Friday.
What was the result of the conflict of interest investigation?
A recent Wauwatosa police investigation into a former school administrator, who resigned after it was learned that she violated school board policies, found no reason to charge her with any crimes.
Kristin Bowers, the Wauwatosa School District's former assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, resigned in January after an internal investigation concluded she violated the School Board's conflict of interest policy and likely violated the board's purchasing policy as well.
An investigation into Bowers, completed by Wauwatosa police detective John Milotzky, found that although Bowers violated school board policies, there was a "lack of proof beyond a reasonable doubt" that she benefited financially because of the conflict of interest concerns.
Evan Casey can be reached at evan.casey@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @ecaseymedia.
Alec Johnson can be reached at alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @AlecJohnson12. | 2022-05-14T10:20:14Z | www.jsonline.com | Wauwatosa school board president abruptly resigns, citing threat | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/west/news/wauwatosa/2022/05/14/wauwatosa-school-board-president-steve-doman-abruptly-resigns-citing-threat/9761755002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/west/news/wauwatosa/2022/05/14/wauwatosa-school-board-president-steve-doman-abruptly-resigns-citing-threat/9761755002/ |
Wrong-way crash left Cordaejha Brown waiting for a phone call from 19-year-old Tyler Anderson that never came
Tyler Anderson and Cordaejha Brown were as close as any young couple could be.
They exchanged text messages and spent hours on the phone. Anderson often spent time over at her house hanging out, watching TV.
That was the plan early Wednesday when Anderson was headed to Brown’s south side home.
He promised to call to let her know when he was outside her house. Brown fell asleep on the couch waiting for that call.
It never came.
“I texted him and I was like, ‘What happened to you.’ No response,” said Brown, 18, a senior at Golda Meir High School.
She thought maybe he went back home to his mom or changed his mind about coming over.
A gut feeling told her something wasn’t right. She began checking Facebook and saw images of a car wreck on Interstate 43. Brown said Anderson normally doesn't take the highway to get to her house.
Brown thought the car resembled Anderson’s black Honda Civic, but she couldn’t quite tell. She began to think the worst, though her mother urged her not to.
“I texted him and I was like, ‘Please call me. You got me overthinking.’ And that was my last message to him,” she said.
A post from one of Anderson’s cousins and a phone call from one of his friends confirmed Brown's worst fears. Anderson had been killed along with another driver in a wrong-way crash on I-43, just south of South Chase Avenue.
“I just broke down,” said Brown, a friend since childhood, who Anderson had been dating off and on for the last five years.
The crash on I-43 is still being investigated
The investigation into the crash that killed Anderson and 27-year-old Ivy Caldwell continued Friday. A preliminary investigation by the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office determined the crash occurred shortly before 2 a.m. Wednesday, just south of South Chase Avenue.
Caldwell was driving north in the southbound lanes when she hit Anderson in a head on collision. Sheriff officials were still trying to determine where Caldwell entered the highway. The accident shut down traffic for hours Wednesday morning as officials investigated.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner conducted toxicology tests on the drivers to determine if alcohol played a role in the crash.
Tyler's mother, Kassandra Anderson, declined to comment when reached by the Journal Sentinel Thursday, saying she was grieving her son’s death.
'He has a big heart'
Brown and Anderson met when she visited her older sister, who at that time lived in Hillside. Anderson's mom lived in the same neighborhood. She was 8 years old and Anderson was a year older, but they often played together.
Back then, Anderson used to playful tease her. As they got older their friendship evolved. Anderson wanted to further their relationship when she became a high school freshman, but she was hesitant. Brown looked at Anderson more as a brother.
“I was always afraid that it was going to mess up our friendship,” she said.
They started dating in 2018, but it become more serious in 2020.
“He was the first one who told me he loved me literally,” she said. “I always thought boys would say that to get in your pants. But after a while, I realized that Tyler was never like that. He genuinely really had love for you.”
As Brown prepares to graduate, her thoughts linger on all the plans that won’t come to pass. She said Anderson was looking forward to seeing her walk across the stage to receive her diploma.
“That’s all he talked about,” she said.
Anderson had plans of his own. He wanted to move to Arizona and start a trucking company with his mother. Brown, who described Anderson as a momma’s boy, said he always wanted to look after his mother.
“That was just him,” Brown said. “He had a big heart. His momma was the number one person. That was his everything right there.”
That is what she liked most about Anderson.
“He was so selfless,” she said. “He would put everybody before himself. That’s what attracted me the most because I liked that in him. He always put his momma, siblings and people around him first.”
When asked what she’ll miss about him, she responded with one word.
“Everything,” Brown said. “That’s all I can say. He is gonna be truly missed by everybody.” | 2022-05-14T12:47:00Z | www.jsonline.com | Sheriff investigating crash that killed 19-year-old Milwaukee man | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/05/14/sheriff-investigating-crash-killed-19-year-old-milwaukee-man/9752128002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/05/14/sheriff-investigating-crash-killed-19-year-old-milwaukee-man/9752128002/ |
The Miami Heat players must have been sitting around Friday night with ice clinking around in a cool drink, keeping tabs on this brutally physical playoff series and rooting for it to go on and on. And on.
Because, really, will the eventual victor have anything left to take on the Heat on Tuesday?
“Not to make any excuses – I’m not the guy to make excuses,” Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said Friday night. “But we’ve played without Khris (Middleton).
"And I believe, as a team, like, we gave everything we had in six games. I haven’t seen, in one of the six games that we played, that I went home and was like, we didn't give enough effort. The effort is always there and hopefully the effort is there in Game 7.”
Three Celtics and two Bucks, Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday, played 40 minutes or more in the Bucks' 108-95 Game 6 loss Friday night at Fiserv Forum. That’s just an example of the all-out effort. The physical toll has shown itself in several areas for both teams at different times.
The Bucks trailed, 53-43, at halftime and didn’t look particularly sharp, shooting 37%, although some of that is just due to the fact Boston has such a smothering defense. And in the second half, Boston's Grant Williams and Antetokounmpo continued to play with four and five fouls, respectively, with the officials seemingly not wanting to be the whistle that determines the game.
Antetokounmpo got off to a ridiculously hot start – his three-pointer tied the game at 17-17 – and he shot 4 of 5 from the field and 6 of 6 on free throws. Milwaukee rode his 44-point, 20-rebound wave all the way.
The Bucks got good production from Brook Lopez early, but mostly could only count on Jrue Holiday and Antetokounmpo for scoring until Pat Connaughton warmed up in the third quarter.
And, in particular, the Celtics defense has disrupted the Bucks' transition game. In Milwaukee’s stunning Game 1 win at Boston, the Bucks had 28 fast-break points. Boston made a point of cutting those down, although the Bucks did have 15 on Friday night. But how much is enough?
“As many as possible,” Holiday said. “Honestly, as many as possible. That's kind of how you beat meeting that switch. You get stops, you grab the ball, start to run the ball and try to beat them before they can get their defense up.
“Everything is tougher when you’re tired. Absolutely everything is tougher when you’re tired. That’s no excuse for either team. We’re down a man, a big piece, but we still got here. We’ve got a chance to close it out so, come Sunday, I think we’ll all be ready.”
There were a few notable absences in Game 6:
Would Jevon Carter have made any difference defending Jayson Tatum? His benching is a coach's decision. Carter hasn’t played since Game 2, since Hill returned healthy.
When is the last time we saw Splash Mountain? Lopez is 0 for 7 from three-point range. He’s obviously not a big time three-point shooter, but he catches defenses off-guard with a soft shooting touch from distance in most games.
"At the end of the day, no matter what happens, you grow from it," Antetokounmpo said. "Like I remember 2018, we went to Boston and lost Game 7. Did not have the best game possible... but you learn from it.
"You learn what the atmosphere is like, when the ball gets heavy. So no matter what happens, we learn and we’re going to get better.”
“We enjoy playing on the road,” Lopez said. “You know, it's a typical, ‘us against the world’ mentality. I think we like playing there because the Garden has great energy. It's a great environment. It should be a great Game 7.” | 2022-05-14T15:05:16Z | www.jsonline.com | Bucks, Celtics will duke it out again in Game 7 of NBA playoff series | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/05/14/bucks-celtics-duke-out-again-game-7-nba-playoff-series/9756833002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/05/14/bucks-celtics-duke-out-again-game-7-nba-playoff-series/9756833002/ |
At least 21 people were shot and injured Friday night in downtown Milwaukee in multiple shootings following the Milwaukee Bucks playoff game.
Police have several suspects in custody. All the victims survived. Authorities have scheduled a news conference for noon Saturday at Red Arrow Park, 920 N. Water St.
Here's what we know so far about what happened. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Where did the shootings happen?
At least three separate shootings occurred, hours apart, near the Deer District. The first happened around 9:12 p.m. in the 1100 block of North MLK Drive, just outside the District. At least three people, including a 16-year-old girl, were injured in that shooting.
A mass shooting happened about two hours later east of the District on Water Street at or near Highland Avenue. At least 17 people were injured in that shooting.
There was a third shooting around 10:30 p.m. at or near the same location as the mass shooting. Police have not said whether it was connected to the mass shooting. A 20-year-old man was injured in that shooting.
Who was involved in the shootings?
Police have arrested 10 people in connection with the shootings. None of the suspects have been identified. Police did not release the ages of the suspects.
A witness told the Journal Sentinel five police officers shot at a car that was fleeing the scene of one of the shootings. Milwaukee police did not release any information about officers firing their guns in their initial release, but are expected to speak to reporters later Saturday.
How many people were injured?
At least 21 people were injured, police said. The extent of those injuries is unknown but all of the victims survived. Around 11,000 people had gathered in the Deer District to watch Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series between the Bucks and Boston Celtics.
How many shots were fired?
It's unclear how many shots were fired but police said they recovered at least nine guns.
Have there been other shootings in or around the Deer District?
Yes. Last month, Shannon Freeman, a 30-year-old father and beloved chef, was shot and killed at The Loaded Slate bar. The Loaded Slate is about a block east of the District.
Last summer, more than a dozen shots were fired near Water Street and Juneau Avenue, also near the District, in the midst of the Bucks championship celebration.
In February, Krystal N. Tucker, 31, was killed and two others injured in a shooting at the popular Brownstone Social Lounge, where Tucker worked. The bar isn't in the immediate vicinity of the Deer District, but is a part of the downtown bar scene. | 2022-05-14T17:10:45Z | www.jsonline.com | 21 injured in downtown Milwaukee shootings: What we know | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/05/14/21-injured-downtown-milwaukee-shootings-what-we-know/9775610002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/05/14/21-injured-downtown-milwaukee-shootings-what-we-know/9775610002/ |
Mayor Cavalier Johnson Saturday afternoon imposed a curfew in the downtown entertainment district Saturday and Sunday nights after at least 21 people were shot in separate incidents Friday night.
The curfew will run from 11 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. for people under 21 years old. The area will include parts of downtown bordered by Knapp and State streets, Vel Phillips Avenue and Broadway.
There were three separate shootings in Milwaukee's downtown bar district after the Milwaukee Bucks playoff game, which drew thousands of people to the Deer District. One of the shootings, which occurred shortly after 11 p.m., left 17 people wounded.
The victims ranged in age from 15 to 47, and all are expected to survive, Milwaukee police said. Ten people were arrested and nine guns were recovered, police said. | 2022-05-14T19:15:08Z | www.jsonline.com | Milwaukee mayor issues curfew after mass shooting near Water Street | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2022/05/14/milwaukee-mayor-issues-curfew-after-mass-shooting-near-water-street-deer-district/9776919002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2022/05/14/milwaukee-mayor-issues-curfew-after-mass-shooting-near-water-street-deer-district/9776919002/ |
With National Endangered Species Day on the near horizon, members of a Wisconsin coalition of conservation organizations issued an urgent call last week for Congress to pass the Recovering America's Wildlife Act.
“Each week seems to bring more dire news for our natural world,” said David Clutter, executive director of the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, in a statement. “Recovering America’s Wildlife Act is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to save our wildlife and their habitats."
The Recovering America's Wildlife Act would dedicate $1.3 billion annually to state fish and wildlife agencies to implement their science-based wildlife action plans and an additional $97.5 million for tribal fish and wildlife managers.
The legislation is designed to provide critical funding and proactive conservation efforts to prevent non-game species from becoming threatened or endangered. At least 15% of its funding would be used on already imperiled species.
The bill has been approved by committees in both chambers of Congress and is available for floor votes.
More:Work on the new wolf management plan in Wisconsin proceeds as roller-coaster of change continues in nation's courts
More:Smith: Wisconsin wild turkey hunting success must be measured in both the short- and long-term
The concept for RAWA emerged from a 2016 Blue Ribbon Panel and has been introduced in three previous sessions of Congress. None advanced as far as this year.
Funding for the program would come from fines paid for environmental violations.
Wisconsin would receive about $18 million annually from RAWA, a significant increase from the $900,000 it currently receives each year from the federal government to fund the state's wildlife action plan.
The coalition said 416 species are at risk in Wisconsin, including monarch butterflies, piping plovers, long-eared owls, wood turtles and four cave bat species. Hundreds more species in Wisconsin are classified as species in need of information, as little is known of their locations and abundance.
The proposed legislation has enjoyed broad bipartisan and popular support. The Senate bill has 32 cosponsors – including 16 Republicans – and the House bill has 171 cosponsors.
About 2,000 conservation groups and outdoor businesses have publicly stated their support for the bill, including the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the Sierra Club.
The Wisconsin coalition for RAWA is similarly diverse.
About 280 Wisconsin organizations and businesses have signed on to a letter supporting the legislation, according to the coalition. In addition, 85% of voters at the April spring hearings indicated they supported passage of RAWA.
The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, which represents more than 200 hunting, fishing and other affiliated organizations, was an original member of the state coalition.
“Our members know that their hunting and fishing depend on having healthy ecosystems, and that pheasants, deer, turkey, ducks, grouse and other game species will also benefit from habitat work funded by RAWA,” Mark LaBarbera, WWF executive director, said in a statement. “We’ve shown in Wisconsin that investing in conservation and our natural infrastructure helps increase fish and wildlife populations and endangered species recover. It also benefits our local economies, improves air and water quality, creates jobs and improves public health.”
The coalition urged Wisconsin residents to contact their elected representatives in the House and Senate by Friday, May 20, which is designated as National Endangered Species Day.
Supporters of the legislation are hoping it receives a vote before Congress breaks for its summer recess and before more attention turns to the fall elections.
For links to Congressional offices and more, visit the website for the Wisconsin RAWA coalition at wicoaltionforrawa.org.
Changes proposed to migratory bird law
Sen. Ben Cardin, a Democrat from Maryland, and Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio, introduced legislation Thursday to enhance the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act.
The NMBCA provides direct funding as well as a partner match program to assist in the conservation of the more than 350 bird species that travel between the U.S. and Latin America or the Caribbean each year. Such species include the scarlet tanager, purple martin and Baltimore oriole.
More:Birds flying through Wisconsin this spring may be carrying tiny backpacks that help scientists track them
The NMBCA helps protect bird habitat as well as support research, monitoring, outreach and education.
As a matching grant program, the NMBCA catalyzes funding from a range of sources beyond the U.S. government. Since 2000 the U.S. has contributed $80 million to the program which resulted in an additional $310 million in matching funds from public-private partnerships.
These funds have supported 658 projects in 36 Latin American and Caribbean countries, 40 U.S. states and territories, and provinces and territories across Canada, according to the National Audubon Society.
The Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Enhancements Act (S. 4187) introduced Thursday specifically aims to:
Increase authorized annual funding for the program from up to $6.5 million to up to $25 million by fiscal year 2028.
Increase the available match of federal funds that can result in more, larger proposals and fewer barriers to participation by partners at a time when action is urgently required.
Provide greater capacity to implement the grant program by raising the amount the Fish and Wildlife Service can allocate toward managing it.
“These are the kinds of investments we must make to help recover the 3 billion birds lost on this continent alone since 1970,” said Marshall Johnson, chief conservation officer of the National Audubon Society.
NWTF's Humphries to retire
The National Wild Turkey Federation announced Thursday that Becky Humphries, CEO of the organization since 2017, will retire in February 2023.
The NWTF Board of Directors appointed Jason Burckhalter and Kurt Dyroff, two of the organization’s top staff executives, as co-CEOs, effective immediately. Humphries will serve with them until she steps down, according to the organization.
Humphries had several leadership roles in conservation before joining NWTF, including as director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment and director of Ducks Unlimited's Great Lakes/Atlantic regional office in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The NWTF is preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary next year.
Lunar eclipse viewings
A total lunar eclipse will occur Sunday night over Wisconsin and much of North America.
The eclipse is the result of the Earth passing between the sun and the moon. This one is termed the "super flower blood moon" since it's taking place in spring, the Earth and moon are closer than normal and the moon will appear red.
It is safe for humans to observe lunar eclipses with the naked eye and with binoculars or a telescope. They are best viewed in areas with a low amount of light pollution.
In eastern Wisconsin the spectacle is scheduled to begin at 8:32 p.m. Sunday when the edge of the Earth's shadow, or penumbra, starts touching the moon.
At 9:27 p.m. a partial eclipse will become evident and the moon will begin to change color.
The total eclipse begins at 10:29 p.m., gets most intense at 11:11 and ends at 11:53 p.m.
At 1:50 a.m. Monday the moon will pass from the Earth's penumbra.
Several public viewings of the total lunar eclipse are scheduled in Wisconsin, including:
Staff with the Daniel M. Soref Planetarium at the Milwaukee Public Museum will set up telescopes near the museum's Wells Street entrance to help the public observe the eclipse. The museum is at 800 W. Wells Street, Milwaukee.
Richard Bong State Recreation Area in Kansasville will host a viewing party from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. led by local astronomers. Bring your own lawn chair, refreshments and optics. Event is weather dependent. Meet at Shelter No. 1.
A naturalist at Devil's Lake State Park near Baraboo will lead a viewing event from 8:30 to 11 p.m. Telescopes will be set up; meet at the North Shore Boat Launch. | 2022-05-14T19:15:20Z | www.jsonline.com | Wildlife bill would give about $18 million annually to Wisconsin | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/outdoors/2022/05/14/wildlife-bill-would-give-18-million-annually-wisconsin/9757075002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/outdoors/2022/05/14/wildlife-bill-would-give-18-million-annually-wisconsin/9757075002/ |
Kenny Chesney tried to process what it meant to finally be on stage in Milwaukee Saturday night. But it was clear no words would do justice.
“It’s impossible to explain all the energy you feel,” Chesney told 40,000 fans at American Family Field.
Honestly, he didn’t need to say a thing. Across a two-hour set, you could see the immeasurable gratitude on his face. And you could feel the deep appreciation from his screaming, singing fans.
RELATED:Think you know Kenny Chesney's catalog? Take our lyrics quiz
They were supposed to gather together here on April 25, 2020, back when the Brewers stadium was known as Miller Park. But then, of course, COVID.
Saturday was the first Milwaukee stadium concert since Billy Joel in April 2019. It was Chesney’s first concert in the city since April 2018.
So a couple of songs into Saturday’s show, Chesney vowed that “every soul on this stage” was going to give the fans and this show “every cell in their bodies.”
That was already apparent. The show kicked off with “Beer in Mexico,” the customary, feel-good, sun-and-booze-loving Chesney show-opener. I’d say it was just like fans remembered it — except it was better. Chesney's band, which this year welcomed strong new additions Danny Rader on guitar and Nick Buda on drums, traditionally flexes during the song, but they were clearly so thrilled to be back on stage that the big rock finish really ripped.
And Chesney, in constant movement from the start, seemed the most excited of all. By the fourth song "Here and Now" — the title track for Chesney's latest album, and the name of his tour — his arms were glistening in sweat, and his tank top was drenched. Even during the breezier bits of "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem," Chesney was so energized he was swiftly moving all over the end of the catwalk.
The first time he was stationary behind a mic stand was for "Anything But Mine" — and that was 12 songs and a full 55 minutes into the set. Even during that brief respite, he made sure to keep the energy alive, bringing out Matthew Ramsey and Brad Tursi from opener Old Dominion for a subsequent performance of "Save It for a Rainy Day" — and then was back to running all over the stage for "When the Sun Goes Down."
There were a couple of songs from the latest album in Saturday's setlist. "Here and Now" opener "We Do" had a reception that rivaled the setlist standards, although Chesney seemed almost apologetic while performing the slower new single "Knowing You," thanking the crowd for indulging him, even though it is certified platinum.
He knows people wanted to hear the older hits, and fans and superstar both relished being able to hear them live again.
The crowd singalong for "I'll Go Back" was so bold that Chesney practically leaped 10 feet, and, by the end of the song, had dropped to his knees. After "American Kids" wrapped, Chesney was so moved by the crowd reception he was practically misty-eyed. And a couple of songs that seemed like simple, escapist fare before — "Get Along" and "Everything's Going to Be Alright" — felt more nourishing live in the wake of the collective trauma we've all experienced from COVID-19.
The show ended, as always, with "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" and Chesney doing a marathon autograph session for fans in the pit. One fan he brought onstage to give an autographed Brewers helmet seemed so elated it looked like she was about to explode. And then before leaving the stage, Chesney promised the Wisconsin branch of his No Shoes Nation fan base that he would see them soon.
Again, that could have gone unspoken. There's no way he's going to let another four years go by before playing a stadium show in Wisconsin again.
Dan + Shay bring the love songs and Bucks love
Country-pop duo Dan + Shay played a big Milwaukee show just eight months ago, selling out Fiserv Forum. Immediately preceding Chesney with a 70-minute set Saturday, Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney got to play for an even larger crowd in Brew City.
Except it wasn’t completely their crowd. So the musically milquetoast, moon-eyed ballads met with big singalongs in town last September were greeted largely with disinterested chatter among Chesney fans across the stadium.
But Dan + Shay would not be deterred, buttering up the crowd with flattery and a “Bucks in seven” shoutout from Mooney. They also took a risk playing “Glad You Exist” with a lone acoustic guitar; it paid off. And their biggest hits — “10,000 Hours,” “Speechless,” “Tequila” — had the crowd’s undivided attention, with Mooney closing out the latter with a stirring vocal note as strong as a shot of Patrón.
Old Dominion honor Taylor Hawkins
Old Dominion was the only opener attached to the lineup when the Chesney show was first announced in 2019 to actually perform Saturday. They also must be Chesney’s favorites — this was their fourth opening gig for him in Wisconsin since 2015.
Don’t be surprised if they get the prime opening slot next time. Old Dominion scored the first stadium-wide singalongs during their hour set with “Break Up With Him” and cheeky new single “I Was on a Boat That Day,” with guitarist Trevor Rosen rocking an accordion at the end of the catwalk.
It was one of a handful of curveballs that distinguished the band from serviceable sets of the past. Brad Tursi busted out some smoking blues guitar licks leading into “Can’t Get You,” and relished frontman duties for a cover of Keith Urban’s “Wild Hearts,” a song he co-wrote.
And frontman Matthew Ramsey led the band through a soaring cover of Foo Fighters’ “Learn to Fly,” a tribute to recently passed drummer Taylor Hawkins, whose picture flashed on the big screen at the end.
Carly Pearce sets a high bar
Anyone who made it to their seats on time was rewarded with the best songwriter and singer of the night, Carly Pearce, the reigning ACM and CMA female vocalist of the Year.
Her voice sounded superb in that massive stadium, but it was the words she was singing that were so striking. The half-hour set primarily focused on her terrific 2021 album “29: Written in Stone,” which partially chronicles her divorce from fellow rising country star Michael Ray.
Under the warm sun from that huge stage, she turned emotionally naked gems like “What He Didn’t Do” and her Ashley McBryde-featuring “Never Wanted to Be That Girl” into cathartic, reassuring anthems. Her genuine excitement — she talked about achieving her lifelong dreams, and going from cleaning Airbnbs to being a Grand Ole Opry member — likely contributed to the emotional shift live.
The set also recalled another promising female country artist who had that first Chesney opening slot in this same ballpark a decade ago. That was Kacey Musgraves, who's since become a culture-shifting, arena-headlining superstar. Saturday's performance suggested Pearce could end up in a similar place.
After waiting more than two years for this night to finally happen, it was only right that Chesney and his fans were blessed with impeccable weather Saturday for all the tailgating and the show itself, where the roof of American Family Field remained open the whole time.
That marathon autograph session that Chesney does at the end as the band rocks out lasts six full minutes, or at least it did Saturday. There was no way to keep count of the number of shirts, hats and flags he signed. Then after wearing out his wrist, he posed for a picture onstage with his band and crew and a dog who was way chiller about being on stage at a concert in a baseball stadium than my dog (and probably your dog) would have been.
Right after their opening song “Make It Sweet,” Old Dominion frontman Matthew Ramsey tossed his electric guitar 10 feet to a roadie — who dropped it. But Ramsey just laughed it off.
Favorite fan interaction: A guy in my row dropped his baseball cap over the railing on the club level. With help from his friends, he managed to get someone’s attention below, who tried tossing the back up. Gravity fought back but after several attempts the guy managed to grab his hat, and patted his hand on his chest in gratitude.
This was the first stadium concert in Milwaukee since Billy Joel in April 2019 — but the Brewers are making up for lost time this year. With Eric Church May 28, this is the first time Milwaukee has had two stadium concerts in a single month since June 1975. And Motley Crue and Def Leppard are coming up at American Family Field on July 17.
Kenny Chesney setlist
1. "Beer in Mexico"
2. "Reality"
3. "Til It's Gone"
4. "Here and Now"
5. "Summertime"
6. "We Do"
7. "Pirate Flag"
8. "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem"
9. "Somewhere With You"
10. "I Go Back"
11. "Get Along"
12. "Anything But Mine"
13. "Save It for a Rainy Day"
14. "When the Sun Goes Down"
15. "Knowing You”
16. "All the Pretty Girls"
17. "Living in Fast Forward"
18. "Young"
19. "Noise"
20. "American Kids"
21. "Setting the World on Fire"
22. "Everything's Going to Be Alright"
23. "Out Last Night"
24. "How Forever Feels"
25. "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" | 2022-05-15T16:37:53Z | www.jsonline.com | Kenny Chesney, Dan + Shay, more bring stadium-size joy to Milwaukee | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/05/15/kenny-chesney-dan-shay-old-dominion-carly-pearce-bring-stadium-size-joy-milwaukee/9737692002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/05/15/kenny-chesney-dan-shay-old-dominion-carly-pearce-bring-stadium-size-joy-milwaukee/9737692002/ |
Vietnam veteran John Schultz says he owes his life to the Hmong soldiers who fought alongside him.
A few months into his deployment to Vietnam, Schultz and the rest of his unit were sent on a mission near the Laos-Vietnam border, he said. The “unspoken” goal, unbeknownst to Schultz at the beginning, was to rescue U.S. pilots from a group of North Vietnamese travelling along the Ho Chi Minh trail on the Lao side of the border.
"We were not supposed to be there," said Schultz, now the past state commander of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans of Foreign Wars.
At their side were Hmong soldiers from Laos, allies of the United States. They could not have carried out the mission without them, and once they rescued the pilots, the Hmong led their American counterparts out of Laos and back to relative safety.
Before they went their separate ways, Schultz wanted to thank them. But they left before he got the chance. On Saturday, at a commemoration inside the state Capitol in Madison, he did not hesitate.
"To each and every one of you, Hmong-Lao veterans, I say, 'Thank you.' I owe my life to you," he said.
Last year, Gov. Tony Evers signed a law designating May 14 as Hmong-Lao Veterans Day, a day for recognizing Hmong veterans' contributions during the Secret War, a covert operation during the Vietnam War in. The CIA recruited Hmong people in Laos during the war to fight Communist forces.
"On Hmong-Lao Veterans Day, we join all Wisconsinites in honoring the sacrifices and service of the thousands of Hmong-Lao veterans who fought alongside the United States and recognize the many Hmong-Lao veterans who call Wisconsin home today," Evers said in a statement issued Friday.
Tens of thousands of Hmong soldiers died in the Secret War.
Laos fell under Communist control in 1975, and May 14 was the last day Hmong officers and others were airlifted to Thailand from the headquarters that had served as base for the covert CIA operation in Laos. Many Hmong who served in the Secret War were left behind and faced retribution from the new Communist regime they had resisted.
"When we lost to the Communists, ... they feel like they lost everything. Something like this is to make them feel like they are someone, they are recognized," said Zongsae Vang, a Hmong interpreter at the Capitol Saturday.
A few dozen Hmong veterans of the Secret War gathered in the Assembly chambers of the state Capitol Saturday, where a large portrait of their leader, the venerated Gen. Vang Pao, stood and the late general's youngest son, Chi Meng Vang, spoke. The gathering was organized by the Wisconsin Lao Veterans of America.
"We are all Americans today," Chi Meng said. "We all serve under one banner and that is the star-spangled banner."
Hmong veterans have long lobbied for more recognition by the U.S. government of their military contributions. The observance of Hmong-Lao Veterans Day, they say, is a step in the right direction.
There is more that they would like done, including on educating young people about Hmong history.
"Sooner or later, we're going to die. After we die, who's going to tell our history," Zongsae said.
Since the war, tens of thousands of Hmong people have resettled in the United States, with Wisconsin home to the third largest Hmong population of any state.
A bill introduced last year in the state Legislature to direct schools to teach about Hmong Americans did not make it out of committee or go to a vote. A bill that would expand most veterans benefits to Hmong people who served in the Secret War also was introduced last year but died in committee.
State Sen. Jerry Petrowski, R-Marathon, was a co-sponsor of the bill to name May 14 Hmong-Lao Veterans Day and told the Hmong veterans at the Capitol Saturday that the designation was a good start.
"There’s still a lot of things we would like to accomplish," he said.
As an example, Petrowski said he's hopeful state lawmakers will advance a bill in the next legislative session to allow Hmong veterans to be buried in Wisconsin veterans' cemeteries.
While Congress in 2018 passed a law allowing Hmong veterans of the Secret War to be buried in national cemeteries, Petrowski said changes need to be made to state law.
Chongjeh Vang, one of the veterans at the Capitol Saturday, served for nearly 15 years in the Secret War. He was 16 years old when he was recruited in 1961, he said. He trained Hmong soldiers in Thailand and also served at the Long Cheng airbase in northern Laos, directing aircraft, he said.
He was among the relatively few Hmong airlifted out of Laos to Thailand in May 1975. He stayed in Thailand until 1991, he said, waiting for friends and family who had been left behind in Laos.
He was happy to be with other veterans he had served with in Laos on Saturday, where they crowded around Chi Meng to pose for photos with him.
"Today is (an) important day that we have," he said. | 2022-05-15T19:18:41Z | www.jsonline.com | Hmong veterans honored for service, seek more awareness, benefits | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/05/15/hmong-veterans-honored-service-seek-more-awareness-benefits/9779125002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/05/15/hmong-veterans-honored-service-seek-more-awareness-benefits/9779125002/ |
MIAMI – On the morning of his 1,000th major-league game, Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Kolten Wong was reflective on his origins.
A kid from Kea’au, Hawaii, a town of about 2,000 people on an island of roughly 150,000, Wong didn’t have much of a blueprint for how to become a big-league baseball player growing up. He followed closely as Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino became an all-star, gold glover and World Series champion, but before Victorino, only one Hawaiian-born player had ever appeared in 600 games.
“It’s just a blessing,” Wong said before Sunday’s game against the Miami Marlins. “From where I’m from, there’s never been another guy to do it like what I’ve done, so I didn’t have a blueprint or anybody to really look up to accept someone like a Victorino.”
Wong became the fourth player born in Hawaii to reach 1,000 MLB games when he led off Sunday’s contest, joining Kurt Suzuki (1,596 games), Mike Lum (1,517) and Victorino (1,299).
Wong credited his upbringing – which also played a big role in his younger brother, Kean, reaching the majors in 2019 – for his ability to endure the daily grind of a baseball player ever since he debuted in 2013.
“I think just humble beginnings,” Wong said. “Understanding that this is something that’s not taken for granted by me. Ever since I got to the big leagues, it’s always been an honor for me to be here. I never took a day for granted and just tried to continue to play hard and do what I could do to stay up here. It’s not easy being in the big leagues for this long so I just tried to keep my head down and understand I’m very fortunate to be in this situation.”
More:Nickel: 'There's a higher calling' in baseball for Kolten Wong, a proud son, proud father-to-be and proud Hawaiian
Brewers come through in a pinch
Pinch-hitting isn’t dead yet.
The advent of the designated hitter in the National League largely eradicated the need for a team to utilize most – or all – of its bench to pinch-hit for pitchers, but no team in the league is having more success with its reserves than the Brewers.
Entering play Sunday, Milwaukee pinch-hitters led the NL teams in hits (eight), homers (two) and OPS (1.076).
Much of that groundwork has been achieved by the likes of Mike Brosseau, Jace Peterson and Tyrone Taylor, who have come off the bench to give the Brewers a platoon advantage against opponents’ bullpens.
The job of pinch-hitter, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said, is more difficult with the DH because at-bats off the bench aren’t nearly as consistent as they were when pitchers batted.
“I think the other way it was actually easier because in the National League format, you can kind of count on it happening every day,” Counsell said. “In this format it’s not an everyday occurrence, so it’s actually a little harder. I think it’s harder to get ready and that’s a little bit more challenging. I actually think the American League version of it is harder, it’s less frequent. And for that reason it’s harder to be successful.”
The inconsistency of the at-bats may be tougher, but Brosseau thinks preparing to come off the bench has been simplified in this format. Before each game when he’s not in the starting lineup, Brosseau, a right-handed hitter, knows what spots and against which specific pitchers he may be called upon to hit.
“If you’re coming off the bench you can kind of play two, three innings in advance and see if this happens, I’m probably going in in this situation,” Brosseau said. “You have that time to prepare a little bit and then once you figure that out, it’s what’s his best pitch? What’s his fastball do? That’s the matchup that they want and it’s probably gonna be a big time in the game if they’re making a move, it’s probably an important time. So you’re really focusing on that individual.
“It allows you to dive a little bit deeper and really hone in on what they have and how they’re gonna attack you.” | 2022-05-15T19:18:48Z | www.jsonline.com | Brewers' Kolten Wong reaches 1,000-game milestone in major leagues | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/05/15/brewers-kolten-wong-reaches-1-000-game-milestone-major-leagues/9783994002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/05/15/brewers-kolten-wong-reaches-1-000-game-milestone-major-leagues/9783994002/ |
For the second straight year in the Eastern Conference semifinal round, the Milwaukee Bucks play a Game 7 NBA playoff game on the road.
The Bucks and Celtics tip off at 2:30 p.m. Sunday from TD Garden in Boston with the winner advancing to the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat.
Nickel column:Who has the most left in the tank for Game 7 of the Bucks-Celtics series as the Miami Heat sits and waits?
More:Milwaukee Bucks vs. Boston Celtics odds, predictions for Game 7 | 2022-05-15T19:18:54Z | www.jsonline.com | Bucks vs. Celtics live playoff updates, score from Game 7 in Boston | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/05/15/milwaukee-bucks-vs-boston-celtics-live-nba-playoff-updates-score-game-7-td-garden-may-15-2022/9765988002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/05/15/milwaukee-bucks-vs-boston-celtics-live-nba-playoff-updates-score-game-7-td-garden-may-15-2022/9765988002/ |
'Open to the possibility': Creator of 'Run, Bambi, Run' podcast isn't sure Laurie Bembenek wasn't involved in Schultz murder
Vanessa Grigoriadis can't rule out the possibility that Laurie Bembenek was involved in the murder of Christine Schultz.
That's not something you'd expect to hear from someone who's spent months digging into one of Milwaukee's most notorious crimes — one with nude cops, shady characters, Playboy Club references, a crazy trial, even a prison break.
“I’m open to the possibility that Laurie was there in the house that night, that Laurie knew something about the murder," said Grigoriadis, the creator of "Run, Bambi, Run," an eight-episode Apple TV+ podcast that takes a deeper look at Bembenek, who was convicted of the 1981 murder of Schultz, the ex-wife of Bembenek's then-husband, Elfred O. Schultz Jr.
"But I think that she had a completely unfair trial."
The podcast — six episodes of which have already been released, with the final installments landing May 16 and 23 — explores the conflict-of-interest-filled investigation that led to Bembenek's arrest and conviction for the murder; her escape from prison, flight to Canada and headline-grabbing capture; and her efforts to end her time behind bars and clear her name.
But "Run, Bambi, Run," based in part on the book by the same name by Kris Radish, is about more than what TV journalist Diane Sawyer reportedly called “the most glamorous murder case of the 1980s.”
It's also about the state of policing, and the Milwaukee Police Department, in the 1980s, and especially the role of women in police departments.
“Her story on a what-does-it-mean level is about women in policing," Grigoriadis said of Bembenek. "She believed she was railroaded. She believed she was railroaded because of her gender.”
Hadn't heard of Bembenek case
At the time Christine Schultz was murdered, Bembenek, who had been in the Milwaukee Police Academy and also worked briefly as a waitress at the Playboy Club in Lake Geneva, was working as a security guard at Marquette University. She had been dismissed from the Milwaukee Police Department — unfairly, she maintained. (At the time of the murder, the podcast points out, Bembenek was trying to fight her dismissal, and planned to turn the tables by revealing photographs she'd obtained of cops playing nude volleyball at a bar in Riverwest.)
In March 1982, Bembenek was convicted of first-degree murder and sent to Taycheedah Correctional Institution. After a string of unsuccessful attempts to appeal her conviction, she escaped from Taycheedah in 1990 and fled to Canada. A year later, she returned and agreed to plead no contest to second-degree murder, with her sentence commuted to time served. (Later, she unsuccessfully tried to get her plea thrown out.)
The Bembenek saga is part of Milwaukee lore, but it was news to Grigoriadis, a journalist and co-founder of podcast company Campside Media.
“I specialize in writing about big female icons in America, and I was shocked that, even though I’m a Gen-X’er, I had never heard of this case," she said. "I had no idea who Bambi Bembenek was, I didn’t know about her hurried flight to Canada or the 'America’s Most Wanted' hunt for her, and I was fascinated by the idea that she was both a bombshell and a feminist.
"And I wanted to try to figure out what it was about her that made so many people mesmerized by her throughout her life.”
'Everybody around her was a suspect'
One thing that intrigued Grigoriadis was the cast of characters around Bembenek, from her then-husband, Elfred Schultz, a Milwaukee police detective with a checkered history, to Judy Zess, who lived with Schultz and Bembenek at the time of Christine Schultz's murder.
Zess, who had some close ties to criminals, also had been fired from MPD after being arrested for marijuana possession; she was with Bembenek at the time of her arrest, and her claim that Bembenek had pot, too, helped get her kicked off the force.
"This is a case where everybody around her was a suspect," Grigoriadis said.
It also was the kind of story usually told about a male cop getting in too deep with the wrong people. That appealed to Grigoriadis, too.
“There are tons of stories about male cops in the '70s and '80s having a lot of connections to unsavory characters — I mean, there’s a whole genre that’s about that," she said. "But I can’t think of one that’s about a female cop that has those connections. They may not have been as deep as they thought they were, but through her friend who betrayed her, Judy Zess, there’s definitely a connection there.
"That’s what was so fascinating about Laurie. You have this person who has a real sense of morality, but yet is also partying with all these sort of sketchy people. And she really didn’t think that was a big deal. But being a woman, and being in that scene, it was a big deal.
"People did perceive her a certain way because of it. I’m not saying that’s why she was convicted, but I think there are a lot of cops and former cops in Milwaukee who saw her as a bad seed.”
'Preposterous' trial
It was Zess' testimony in the murder trial — testimony she later recanted — that went a long way toward convicting Bembenek. Since she was convicted mostly on circumstantial evidence, Zess' later undercutting of her own testimony threw the whole trial in question, Grigoriadis said.
“I spent a lot of time on the trial (in 'Run, Bambi, Run') because I think the trial is preposterous," she said, adding the district attorney's office "taking the hard position that she is 100% guilty of this crime and she’s the only person involved in this crime" was also "hard to believe."
“The one thing that we know is true is (Bembenek) was a heavy drinker, and she did use drugs in different parts during her life, and she was just a kid, she was in her early 20s," Grigoriadis said. "She could have gotten herself mixed up in something that was way bigger than herself. I believe that’s unlikely, but there is an avenue by which you could see that was the case. … That’s what the government made.”
Bembenek's death in 2010, of liver and kidney failure at age 52, helped dim the limelight that had shined on her case for the previous three decades. But — assuming Bembenek, who as part of her plea deal took legal responsibility for the killing, didn't do it — no one has proved definitely who did it.
"It's likely to be unsolved forever," Grigoriadis said. | 2022-05-16T13:03:36Z | www.jsonline.com | 'Run, Bambi, Run' podcaster isn't sure Laurie Bembenek was innocent | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/television-radio/2022/05/16/run-bambi-run-podcaster-isnt-sure-laurie-bembenek-innocent/9709959002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/television-radio/2022/05/16/run-bambi-run-podcaster-isnt-sure-laurie-bembenek-innocent/9709959002/ |
West Milwaukee printing plant closes, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel printed for the last time in Wisconsin
WEST MILWAUKEE - The rich smell of ink and the sound of the machines at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel printing facility have only changed a little. But the journalism industry is sometimes unrecognizable.
When the $112 million Burnham Street printing plant opened in March 2003, it was a marvel from Germany.
The computer-controlled presses on 10 acres stood five stories. They were the largest of any press at the time in North America, able to churn out 85,000 papers an hour. And the quality captured the attention of USA Today and the Wall Street Journal — both eventually printed in West Milwaukee.
On Sunday night, ink-stained hands pulled the Journal Sentinel's newspaper off the Burnham Street press for the last time. Newspaper publisher Gannett announced March 14 it would move the printing of its 11 Wisconsin newspapers, including the Journal Sentinel, to its printing plant in Peoria, Illinois.
More:Gannett to close West Milwaukee printing plant. The Journal Sentinel and 10 other Wisconsin papers will be printed in Peoria.
Gary Hall's fingers have had ink on them since he started as a "fly man" — cleaning the press and emptying the trash — at Journal Communications in 1986. He's a third-generation press operator, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.
He said shuttering the West Milwaukee printing press was something most of the plant's 180 employees knew was coming. They just weren't sure when.
"It's sad to know that we've got third-generation employees, including myself, that are leaving here," said Hall, who is now the regional operations director for Gannett.
"It's also a blessing for us. A lot of our employees are at or close to retirement age. There are better days ahead."
A 5-story press made sense 20 years ago, before smartphones, tablets and laptop computers became how people consume their news. Now newspaper companies like Gannett are finding themselves with too much printing capacity.
More:Production of print newspapers is migrating — up the interstate
About 100,000 Journal Sentinel Sunday newspapers were printed this week — significantly less than previous decades.
At the same time, digital subscriptions have been rising. The Journal Sentinel now has nearly 60,000 digital-only subscribers, up from 13,000 a few years ago.
"A drop in (print) circulation has certainly been the greatest challenge, but so has adapting to the change in ownership," Hall said. "We went from Journal Communications to Journal Media Group then we were purchased by Gannett and then new Gannett when it was purchased by Gatehouse."
Hall held a job fair shortly after the March 14 announcement. He brought in five printing manufacturing companies. He said most employees have found work.
"From a timing standpoint, this is happening at a good time, there were a lot of good job opportunities," Hall said. "I'm certainly going to miss the camaraderie, team work and dedication of all the employees here. But this is a sign of the times."
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editor George Stanley said collaboration between the press room and newsroom has made it possible to get out some of the biggest stories and best coverage for readers, whether it was because of a hanging chad in 2000 or a 2 a.m. vote in the state Legislature to build Miller Park.
"We published two extra editions each day on 9-11 and 9-12, 2001," Stanley said. "We tried to do everything we could to help when a press broke down or a big blizzard blew in. There's just example after example. I just can't say enough good things about them."
At a going away party Friday, dozens of retired and current press operators gathered to say goodbye.
Many pointed to the wall of black and white photos showing how the machines evolved from the creaky presses that rumbled for 60 some years at the newspaper’s old headquarters at 4th and State streets to the state-of-the art presses built 20 years ago.
Brothers Tom and Bill Zuba worked as press operators for 40 and 37 years, respectively. Tom retired in 2017. Bill plans to go to work for another paper manufacturing company.
Both said the time has come to close the plant.
"There are not a lot of old people left like me that want to hold (the paper) in their hand," Tom Zuba said.
Both brothers said they were looking forward to the future, but paused, and wiped tears from their eyes.
John Cissa started working in the press room in 1981. Like so many others, Cissa had family working at the facility. In his case it was a stepfather, and before that, a grandfather, who started in the 1940s.
He said leaving the job after more than 40 years hasn't really sunk in. Cissa plans to take the summer off, and then start working at another printing company.
"It has been kinda creeping up on me all week," he said. "Maybe Monday or Tuesday it will hit me when I'm supposed to be doing something and I'm not." | 2022-05-16T13:03:48Z | www.jsonline.com | Burnham printing closes and Journal Sentinel will be printed in Peoria | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2022/05/16/burnham-printing-closes-and-journal-sentinel-printed-peoria/9719911002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2022/05/16/burnham-printing-closes-and-journal-sentinel-printed-peoria/9719911002/ |
Today we delivered the last edition of the Journal Sentinel to be printed in Milwaukee County.
Starting tonight, our newspaper will be printed in Peoria, Illinois.
Deadlines to make the print edition will be earlier for our news staff so that the paper can be delivered to your home first thing each morning.
That means the newspaper will become entirely what it mostly has been:
A place to find great in-depth enterprise reporting of stories most important to people in Wisconsin.
A place where expert beat reporters answer key questions and keep you in-the-know about public policy, elected representatives, schools and education, businesses and opportunities, arts and entertainment, sports and more.
A place where investigative reporting exposes wrongdoing while also highlighting best practices and potential solutions, so the public can demand better.
The morning paper won’t include late-breaking news or results from the previous night’s games. But our “e-edition” — an electronic version of the print Journal Sentinel — now offers two sections with late world and sports news in a traditional newspaper format. These extra sections include later news stories and game results than we’ve historically published in print, such as extra-inning West Coast baseball scores or the latest from the war in Ukraine.
More:How to read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's e-edition print replica
The best way to deliver breaking news and sports today is through digital and mobile devices, and our print subscribers have access to everything we offer online. It’s easy to log in and sign up for mobile alerts and newsletters so you don’t miss any stories of greatest interest to you. Online we offer live chats with fans during games, video interviews and stories, stunning photo galleries, interactive maps and graphics. In print, we’ll continue to deliver insightful reports on the most important issues and challenges we face – stories that matter for much longer than a day.
I love newspapers.
I love holding what I’m reading in my hands, carrying it from one room to another, sharing sections, seeing a summary of the day’s most important stories – history recorded in the moment.
My first job was delivering a paper printed in Milwaukee, at 4th and State. I wound up working for decades with the children of some of the pressmen, compositors, electricians and machinists who printed the papers I threw as a boy.
When I called Production Chief Gary Hall to ask to hold the presses for a big late-breaking story, or when he called to ask the newsroom to close early due to an incoming blizzard, we spoke in shorthand. Gary’s father was a Journal pressman and his grandfather arranged lead type in the Journal composing room.
One of my favorite “hold the presses” stories comes from recently retired baseball writer Tom Haudricourt. In October 1995, still years before folks had smartphones or high-speed Internet, Tom covered the 16-hour debate and vote in the State Senate that led to the building of a new domed Brewers stadium. At around 2 a.m., Sen. George Petak of Racine decided to vote for the stadium bill, giving it the majority needed to pass. The pressroom waited. Tom filed his story, gathered all his stuff and got some coffee for the drive home to Milwaukee’s North Shore.
“As I trudged up the steps to my front porch around 5 a.m., I could barely believe my eyes,” he said. “There was my copy of the Journal Sentinel, hot off the presses, with my ballpark story on the front page ... I’ve never been more impressed or proud.”
That was our pressroom in action.
Today, of course, you get an alert and the story on your phone just minutes after the vote.
But some things haven’t changed as much as we might think. One night in March, I checked out “31 Days of Oscar” on Turner Classic Movies. They were playing Marty, the Ernest Borgnine Best Picture from 1955.
Early in the movie, Marty heads to a tavern to find his friends. It’s crowded and everyone in the bar is looking through the afternoon paper. Marty and his best friend grab a booth, drink their beers and stare at stories in the paper while half-listening to what the other person is saying.
It's just like you see in bars today with people and their phones.
While technology continually changes, we remain much the same, still interested in what’s new and how it might affect us.
The Journal Sentinel will continue to deliver that news to you, to the best of our ability, with all the tools we have available.
More:How to stay up to date with all the latest news from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | 2022-05-16T13:04:00Z | www.jsonline.com | Journal Sentinel stops Milwaukee printing, delivers latest news online | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/columnists/george-stanley/2022/05/16/journal-sentinel-stops-milwaukee-printing-delivers-latest-news-online/9766009002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/columnists/george-stanley/2022/05/16/journal-sentinel-stops-milwaukee-printing-delivers-latest-news-online/9766009002/ |
Mequon officials approve Swan Ridge Farms subdivision despite some opposition
Development of Mequon's new Swan Ridge Farms conversation subdivision will continue to move forward after the Common Council on May 10 approved plans to rezone the preserve, despite some hesitation from some council members and residents.
The Common Council voted, 5-3, to rezone the 86-acre parcel on the west side of Swan Road from 5-acre to 1-acre lots. The Planning Commission on March 21 recommended the move.
"I'm on the fence about how to vote on this. I don't like that it's switching from 5-acre to 1-acre (lots)," said Ald. Robert Strzelczyk, who ended up voting against the proposal.
Swan Ridge Farms includes 83 lots.
The plan recommends two road connections from the the existing subdivision and to connections off Swan Road.
Several residents spoke in opposition of the proposed development's effect on the surrounding rural area.
"When we purchased our home in 2019 I was under the impression that we were moving to an area that would remain rural," said Patrick Humpal. "I thought Mequon would be a place where I could raise my kids away from traditional suburban sprawl."
The developer states that homes in the proposed subdivision would range from $575,000 to $900,000. As a whole, the subdivision is expected to generate annual tax revenue of $650,000 to $1,027,000, according to the city.
Ald. Jeffrey Hansher said he'd be directly affected by the new development because he lives nearby. However, he said the new subdivision would improve the city overall.
"I look at this subdivision as a way of broadening our community of people that want to live in Mequon, that want to contribute to Mequon. I don't see it as a disadvantage. In fact, I relish the fact that we have more people that want to live in our community," Hansher said.
The developer will need to bring the subdivision into the sewer service area, which is a six- to nine-month process through the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District and the Wisconsin state Department of Natural Resources. The expected time frame to break ground is spring 2023, said Joe Bukovich, vice president of development with Point Real Estate. | 2022-05-16T16:44:14Z | www.jsonline.com | Mequon officials approve Swan Ridge Farms subdivision | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/2022/05/16/mequon-officials-approve-swan-ridge-farms-subdivision/9744127002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/2022/05/16/mequon-officials-approve-swan-ridge-farms-subdivision/9744127002/ |
Carrie Underwood, with Jimmie Allen, coming to Milwaukee for 43-date 'Denim & Rhinestones Tour'
Country superstar Carrie Underwood is swinging through 43 U.S. cities for her newly announced "Denim & Rhinestones" tour — and Milwaukee is one of them.
Actually, it's one of the first stops, on Oct. 23 at Fiserv Forum. The tour starts Oct. 15 in South Carolina and wraps up March 17 in Seattle.
She'll be bringing new songs from her forthcoming album "Denim & Rhinestones," out June 10.
And she'll be bringing along the reigning Country Music Association Award winner for new artist of the year: Jimmie Allen, who will have new music too from his June 2022 album "Tulip Drive."
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at the box office (1111 N. Phillips Ave.) and through ticketmaster.com. Prices have yet to be announced.
More:KISS kicks off summer concert season with one last Milwaukee spectacle (maybe) at American Family Insurance Amphitheater
More:Smashing Pumpkins, Jane's Addiction announce fall tour, with Milwaukee stop at Fiserv Forum | 2022-05-16T16:44:17Z | www.jsonline.com | Carrie Underwood coming to Milwaukee for 'Denim & Rhinestones Tour' | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/05/16/carrie-underwood-jimmie-allen-coming-milwaukee-43-date-denim-rhinestones-tour/9792886002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/05/16/carrie-underwood-jimmie-allen-coming-milwaukee-43-date-denim-rhinestones-tour/9792886002/ |
Police said Acosta was last seen April 29 in the area of the 1500 block of South Union Street, in the Muskego Way neighborhood on Milwaukee’s south side.
Acosta is described as a white female, standing 5 feet tall, 120 pounds, with a medium build, blue eyes, and long blonde hair. She was last seen wearing a pink tank-top shirt and black sweatpants.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Milwaukee Police Department at 414-935-7401. | 2022-05-16T16:44:23Z | www.jsonline.com | Milwaukee police ask for help finding Juliet E. Acosta, 34 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/05/16/milwaukee-police-ask-help-finding-juliet-e-acosta-34/9791583002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/05/16/milwaukee-police-ask-help-finding-juliet-e-acosta-34/9791583002/ |
UCLA law dean Jennifer Mnookin named next UW-Madison chancellor
Jennifer Mnookin, the dean of the University of California, Los Angeles law school, will become the next chancellor of Wisconsin's flagship university this summer.
The UW System Board of Regents unanimously voted on Monday for Mnookin, 54, to take the top post at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
While the scale of the school Mnookin has led since 2015 — about 1,350 students, 130 full-time faculty and 150 staff — pales in comparison to UW-Madison's 45,000 students and 20,000 employees, she brings deep familiarity with public university systems, having spent 17 years at UCLA and six years at the University of Virginia School of Law. She also said her background as a lawyer has primed her to lead.
“Lawyers have to listen carefully,” Mnookin said in a statement. “They have to think strategically. They are, fundamentally, trained as problem solvers, and sometimes have to persuade people that don’t necessarily see the world the way they do. They also have to be willing to engage across differences and think seriously about alternative points of view. I do think those are qualities that I will bring to this role as chancellor.”
Mnookin replaces Rebecca Blank, who departs at the end of this month to become president of Northwestern University. The search for Blank’s successor began late last year and yielded 37 candidates, seven of whom were women and 16 who self-reported as a person of color, according to the UW System.
Mnookin will earn a $750,00 annual salary, UW System spokesperson Mark Pitsch said. Blank earned about $600,000.
At UCLA, Mnookin earned $517,000 in 2020, according to University of California System payroll data.
During a recent visit to the Madison campus, Mnookin suggested using the “Wisconsin Idea,” a belief enshrined in state law that Wisconsin’s higher education system should provide benefits beyond the campus, as a model for why public universities matter.
More:Chancellor Rebecca Blank leaving University of Wisconsin-Madison to be first female president of Northwestern University
More:Outgoing UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank suggests 'persistence and stubbornness' for successor
Mnookin developed a deeply intimate understanding of the Wisconsin Idea in late 2020 when she donated a kidney to her dad, longtime Harvard Law School professor Robert Mnookin. The cross-country transplant was possible because of a solution developed at UW-Madison that extends the time that an organ can be safely stored outside of a body.
“I think UW-Madison has the chance to sell that vision for what a public university is and can be as a national and even global model,” she said at a public forum earlier this month.
Asked there how she would offset a decades-long decline in state funding to UW-Madison, Mnookin said she would boost philanthropy efforts, build on industry partnerships and create new degree programs.
UCLA interim provost Michael Levine said Mnookin diversified the law school’s faculty and staff, set fundraising records, established scholarship programs for students who overcame significant life obstacles and achieved its highest ever rankings.
Ann Carlson, a UCLA environmental law professor and chief counsel of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, couldn't pinpoint just one of Mnookin’s strength.
“One of the hallmarks of her leadership, for me, is just how good she is at so many parts of the job,” Carlson told UW-Madison. “She’s a great manager, a great strategist, a great fundraiser, a great teacher, a great colleague, a great scholar, a great institution builder. I could go on and on.”
Mnookin drew praise in Wisconsin, too.
Regents president Ed Manydeeds called her energy "infectious" and her knowledge of Wisconsin and UW-Madison "impressive."
UW-Madison engineering professor Susan Hagness, who served as vice chair of the search committee, said collaborative leadership is at Mnookin's core.
"She brings vision, high energy, a deep appreciation of the Wisconsin Idea, a passion for students who are at the heart of all that we do, a genuine commitment to fostering an inclusive campus, and an impressive understanding of the opportunities before us," Hagness said in a statement.
Mnookin grew up in the Berkeley and Palo Alto area of California. She earned her bachelor’s degree in social studies from Harvard, a law degree from Yale University and a doctorate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has published extensively on issues relating to forensic science.
Mnookin won out among four other finalists: Marie Lynn Miranda, a University of Notre Dame statistics professor and former provost; Ann Cudd, the University of Pittsburgh provost; Daniel Reed, a University of Utah computer science professor and former provost; and John Karl Scholz, the provost at UW-Madison.
Scholz will serve as interim chancellor until Mnookin starts Aug. 4.
Mnookin’s husband, UCLA political science professor Joshua Foa Dienstag, will join UW-Madison as a faculty member. They have two children, a daughter who recently graduated from college and a son who is still in college. | 2022-05-16T16:44:34Z | www.jsonline.com | UCLA law dean Jennifer Mnookin named next UW-Madison chancellor | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2022/05/16/university-of-wisconsin-madison-chancellor-named/9791355002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2022/05/16/university-of-wisconsin-madison-chancellor-named/9791355002/ |
MADISON – Wisconsin did not play its best softball over the last two weeks.
Yet despite losing six of their final eight games, the Badgers (28-19) racked up enough quality victories during the season to secure an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.
UW, which went 1-1 in the Big Ten tournament, was placed in a four-team regional at Florida.
The Badgers open the double-elimination regional against Georgia Tech (37-16) at 1 p.m. Friday on ESPNU.
Host Florida (43-16), seeded No. 14 in the 64-team field, faces Canisius (32-16) in the second game.
UW is making its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance under Yvette Healy, including four in the last five seasons, and ninth in program history. The Badgers are 10-10 in the NCAAs under Healy.
“Going into the day I felt great,” Healy said of UW’s chances to secure an at-large berth. “The wins that we put together, beating Minnesota in the Big Ten tournament, we felt very good.
“But when you are in that room waiting for your name to come up and it doesn’t, and you have to wait until the end, it’s something. There were a lot of tears shed when Wisconsin came up on the screen.” | 2022-05-16T16:44:40Z | www.jsonline.com | Wisconsin receives at-large berth in NCAA softball tournament | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2022/05/16/wisconsin-receives-large-berth-ncaa-softball-tournament/9789980002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2022/05/16/wisconsin-receives-large-berth-ncaa-softball-tournament/9789980002/ |
Popular Elroy-Sparta State Trail reopens after years of flood repairs
SPARTA – The popular Elroy-Sparta State Trail in western Wisconsin officially reopened over the weekend after several years of flood-related repairs.
Summer flood damage in 2018 closed the 32-mile-long trail, which had about 60,000 visitors a year. The state Department of Natural Resources said the trail needed two complete bridge replacements and landslide repairs, among other work.
State Sen. Howard Marklein, of Spring Green, and state Rep. Tony Kurtz, of Wonewoc, spearheaded efforts in the Legislature to secure funds for the trail’s repairs.
“The easy part was the funding,” said Missy A Vanlanduyt of the DNR. “The more difficult part was just the sheer amount of infrastructure that needed to be replaced, and designing all of that, and then going through the bidding process and then finally a very long construction period as well.”
While repair work is largely complete, a 1-mile section of the trail was closed as of Friday because of bridge safety concerns. VanLanduyt said it’s set to reopen after Memorial Day weekend, with a permanent bridge replacement coming in late 2023 or early 2024.
Distributed by the Associated Press. | 2022-05-16T16:44:46Z | www.jsonline.com | Elroy-Sparta State Trail reopens after years of flood repairs | https://www.jsonline.com/story/travel/wisconsin/2022/05/16/elroy-sparta-state-trail-reopens-after-years-flood-repairs/9793598002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/travel/wisconsin/2022/05/16/elroy-sparta-state-trail-reopens-after-years-flood-repairs/9793598002/ |
The vintage Honda motorbike on display, the kind that has flooded streets in Vietnam for decades, is one sign that Hue Vietnamese Restaurant is doing things differently these days.
Hue opened its newly built Bay View location last week, two doors away from the original restaurant. It first opened in 2010, with Vietnamese oil paintings on the wall and an aim of presenting Vietnamese cuisine in a more upscale setting.
Now, at 2699 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., owners Cat Tran and Mark Nielsen have lightened their approach.
In place of oil paintings on the walls is a mural of a street scene in the city of Hue, in central Vietnam, in which scooters zip past shops.
And there's the 1965 motorbike itself. (When importing a Honda Super Cub from Vietnam proved too costly, the owners found one in Boscobel, of all places, and brought it to Bay View in the back of a van.)
"My mom got her first one in 1968," Tran said. "It was pretty fun for her to see that." Her mother hadn't seen a scooter like that since she left Vietnam in 1975, at the Vietnam War's end. Tran said her aunt drove her mother's motorbike into a lake so the North Vietnamese couldn't seize it.
The oil paintings aren't gone entirely; look up, and you'll see they're attached to the ceiling over the bar. It was a way of saying that the restaurant was "changing gears and done with the old way of doing things," Nielsen said.
"We take our food and how we do our food very seriously," he said, but the point of the new Hue is to be upbeat and fun.
The two-story building (which has three studio apartments on the second floor) was awhile in coming. The couple bought the property in 2019; it formerly was the site of Sven's, a small, low-slung cafe with a parking lot.
The pandemic not only delayed construction until 2021, it drew out completion of the project. The restaurant opened May 10.
Hue expanded the new building's footprint into what was Sven's parking lot, taking its capacity from 49 in the old spot to about 65 in the new.
Tran and Nielsen said the new restaurant is a bit more kid-friendly; it has a place to park strollers, and it was important to have changing tables, too (highchairs and booster seats are on back order, as is much in 2022). One menu item is called The Last Resort — chicken tenders.
The couple said the accommodations are partly because Bay View is home to many young families and partly personal.
"It reflects a change in us being a family now," Tran said, noting their son was born five years ago.
The restaurant now has a 25-seat patio, which officially opens this week. A window that looks onto the patio from the bar rolls up to give the restaurant an airy feel and lets the bar easily serve customers inside and outside.
Customers will find some new menu items in the coming months; Hue plans to start offering banh mi in summer, for one. Tran said she never had time to expand the menu, but closing the Wauwatosa location a year ago and consolidating operations will help.
Hue has a much larger kitchen than the old restaurant had, nearly triple the size. It takes up the original site of Sven's. "We outgrew the kitchen" at the old location, Tran said.
A bigger kitchen accommodates the increased ways that Hue, like many restaurants, gets its food to customers these days.
"The operations model for a restaurant has changed dramatically over the past 10 years," Nielsen said.
The dining room often was a restaurant's sole focus, with a kitchen built to serve the dining room. But the kitchen now must serve many more kinds of customers — in the dining room, yes, but also for carryout, delivery, catering, retail sales and, in Hue's case, a food truck.
"It’s all these avenues to get your food to people," he said.
A third of Hue's business continues to be carryout, more than it was before the pandemic. Until April, it had been as much as half.
Nielsen thinks many of them are customers new to Hue; he suspects people in the pandemic at first ordered carryout from their regular haunts, then began looking more broadly for new foods to order, for a change of pace.
Carryout in the COVID era, Nielsen said, "saved us, quite honestly."
He and Tran expected carryout would ebb after Hue's dining room reopened in the pandemic, but it didn’t, and the dine-in crowd came back. “It grew, in a strange way,” Nielsen said.
The new Hue location is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. It's likely to expand weekend hours, but the owners will evaluate hours carefully. The pandemic didn't affect only carryout demand; it affected the longing for work-life balance.
"Our staff are people with families and lives. It’s important to them, and it’s important to us," Nielsen said.
The restaurant's menu and online ordering are at huerestaurants.com; to contact, (414) 294-0483. | 2022-05-16T20:00:11Z | www.jsonline.com | Hue Vietnamese Restaurant opens in its new building with a new outlook | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/dining/2022/05/16/hue-vietnamese-restaurant-opens-its-new-building-new-outlook/9791577002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/dining/2022/05/16/hue-vietnamese-restaurant-opens-its-new-building-new-outlook/9791577002/ |
Here are 16 ways to get into Summerfest 2022 in Milwaukee for free
Summerfest isn't just the largest music festival in the United States. It also has some of the lowest general-admission ticket prices you'll find anywhere.
And sometimes, you don't even have to pay at all.
Over the past three years, an average of nearly 15% of festivalgoers have gotten into the festival for free through a series of promo deals, many of them supporting local nonprofits, according to Summerfest officials.
And 2022 will be no exception, with 16 freebie deals for the nine-day fest, running June 23 to 25, June 30 to July 2 and July 7 to 9.
Here's how you can get in at no charge to the Milwaukee music festival. Note that general admission doesn't include American Family Insurance Amphitheater shows or reserved seats for evening headliners at the BMO Harris Pavilion.
June 23: Everyone who arrives between noon and 3 p.m. and donates at least two jars of peanut butter for the Hunger Task Force will get in free. And anyone who makes a $10 donation at hungertaskforce.org/summerfest through June 10 will receive an offer code for free admission that can be redeemed between noon and 3 p.m. June 23.
June 24: Everyone arriving between noon and 3 p.m. will get in free for Lou Malnati's Children's Fest Day. Bonus deals: Select vendors will offer food and beverage discounts.
June 25: The first 1,500 people who arrive between noon and 3 p.m. at the Mid Gate and donate new deodorant, feminine hygiene products and/or socks (a minimum $10 value) will get in free. All donations will go to Mary Lou's Closet, a program providing hygiene supplies for in-need youth in area public schools, and will specifically benefit the United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County's community schools.
June 30: Pick 'n Save shoppers can get up to four free tickets for every $50 spent through May 17. The original receipt must be presented between noon and 6 p.m., with a limit of 12 tickets per receipt. Bonus deal: All beverages (excluding frozen drinks, speciality coffee drinks and smoothies) are also 50% off, and admission is $5 off, from noon to 6 p.m.
July 1: All active-duty military personnel and veterans who present a valid military ID, copy or a photo of a DD-214 form or a driver's license with a veteran classification get in free through 6 p.m., along with up to four family members. July 1 is also Military Appreciation Day, with a ceremony at 3 p.m. at the Generac Power Stage that includes a speech from Bronze Star recipient Keni Thomas.
The first 2,000 people who donate three nonperishable food items (cooking oil and fruit snack packs, low-sugar applesauce and mandarin oranges preferred) to the Mid Gate between noon and 3 p.m. also get in free, with donations benefiting the Kinship Community Food Center.
July 2: The first 2,500 people who donate new or gently used children's books (minimum $10 value) at the Mid Gate through 3 p.m. get in free. Picture books and books for early readers through age 10 preferred, with all books being donated to Next Door.
July 7: The first 2,000 people who show up before 3 p.m. at the Mid Gate and donate three nonperishable food items (canned fruits and vegetables preferred) get in free. The food is to be donated to the Hunger Task Force. And everyone age 60 and up who shows up between noon and 4 p.m. gets in free. Bonus deals: Seniors who get in free will receive a $2 off voucher for a food or non-alcoholic beverage purchase valid for a purchase over $10. Wheelchairs also will be provided free while supplies last.
July 8: Everyone showing up between noon and 3 p.m. wearing a shirt or hat representing one of seven schools — Cardinal Stritch University, Carthage College, Marquette University, Milwaukee Area Technical College, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin-Platteville and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater — gets in free. And all high school students who complete their FAFSA by July 8 will receive a free general-admission ticket.
July 9: Everyone arriving between noon and 3 p.m. gets in free, and the first 30,000 people through the turnstiles receive a free Summerfest general-admission ticket for 2023.
Ticket promos throughout Summerfest
Download the Summerfest app to receive a general-admission ticket valid on Thursdays and Fridays, while supplies last (10,000 tickets are being made available through the app).
Between May 25 and June 14, if you purchase $25 at area Pick 'n Save and Metro Market in a single transaction on Pepsi, Dietz & Watson, Red Bull, Palermo's, Klement's, Sargento and Koops' products, you will receive two free tickets. (Limit of four tickets per transaction, 12 tickets redeemed per day.) Visit picknsave.com/summerfest and metromarket.net/summerfest for a list of applicable products.
Everyone who donates blood at a Versiti Blood Center mobile drive in May gets one free ticket, while supplies last. | 2022-05-16T20:00:17Z | www.jsonline.com | How to get into Summerfest 2022 in Milwaukee for free with promo deals | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/festivals/summerfest/2022/05/16/how-get-into-summerfest-2022-milwaukee-free-promo-deals/9790889002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/festivals/summerfest/2022/05/16/how-get-into-summerfest-2022-milwaukee-free-promo-deals/9790889002/ |
"Be Seen," a new podcast on the history of the LGBTQ community in Wisconsin, will debut this month through a partnership between Radio Milwaukee and the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project.
The six-episode podcast starts May 23 with an installment on the 1961 clash between drunken servicemen and patrons of the Black Nite bar, a Milwaukee gay bar — an incident that's been called "Milwaukee's Stonewall."
Subsequent episodes, on subjects ranging from Wisconsin's first drag show to the state's response to HIV/AIDS, will be released on Mondays through June 27.
RELATED:How Michail Takach helps preserve the history of Milwaukee's LGBTQ community
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Episodes of “Be Seen” will be available on major podcast platforms, as well as Radio Milwaukee's website (radiomilwaukee.org).
The podcast will be hosted by Nate Imig, director of content for Radio Milwaukee, aka WYMS-FM (88.9), and Michail Takach, curator of the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project.
"As we approach Pride Month, it’s important for LGBTQ youth, who face disproportionate risks of suicide and self-harm, to see themselves in history,” Takach said in the statement announcing the podcast. “It has never been more critical for our people to be visible, accessible and connective.” | 2022-05-16T20:00:23Z | www.jsonline.com | 'Be Seen' podcast to highlight history of Wisconsin's LGBTQ community | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/television-radio/2022/05/16/be-seen-podcast-highlight-history-wisconsins-lgbtq-community/9793622002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/television-radio/2022/05/16/be-seen-podcast-highlight-history-wisconsins-lgbtq-community/9793622002/ |
Proton therapy for cancer patients who require radiation therapy will soon be available in Wisconsin.
Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin are partnering with Legion Healthcare Partners, a Houston-based for-profit health group, to begin offering the therapy in 2023.
Froedtert & the Medical College will begin construction in early 2023 to house the new proton therapy system on the Froedtert Hospital campus in Wauwatosa.
Health care officials would not say what they are building or how much it will cost.
The health network expects to begin treating patients with this advanced radiation technology through the Froedtert & MCW Cancer Network in the second half of 2024.
The addition of proton therapy will make precision radiation therapy more accessible to adult and pediatric cancer patients who currently travel out of state for this treatment.
Proton therapy is offered at Rush Medical Center in Chicago or the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Tina Curtis, vice president of cancer services for Froedtert Health said the partnership with Legion Healthcare will make proton therapy more accessible to Wisconsin patients.
“Our mission continues to be focused on expanding access to academic medicine, and our goal is to increase the availability of precision treatment options and to provide the right care in the right place at the right time," Curtis said.
Proton therapy delivers a precisely targeted dose of radiation directly to a tumor using high-energy beams of proton particles rather than X-rays.
According to the National Cancer Institute, proton therapy is less likely to damage nearby healthy tissues and some experts believe that proton therapy is safer than traditional radiation, but there is limited research comparing the two treatments.
More:Froedtert Health plans rehabilitation hospital on Blue Mound Road in Wauwatosa
More:Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin has opened a new 24/7 emergency center at Drexel Town Square
Proton therapy is more expensive than traditional radiation, and not all insurance companies cover the cost of the treatment, given the limited evidence of its benefits, the National Cancer Institute found.
"Nevertheless, 31 hospitals across the country have spent millions of dollars building proton therapy centers, and many advertise the potential, but unproven, advantages of the treatment," according to the National Cancer Institute. | 2022-05-16T20:00:29Z | www.jsonline.com | Froedtert to offer proton therapy for cancer patients in Wisconsin | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2022/05/16/froedtert-offer-proton-therapy-cancer-patients-wisconsin/9793604002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2022/05/16/froedtert-offer-proton-therapy-cancer-patients-wisconsin/9793604002/ |
An off-duty Cleveland officer fatally shot a 17-year-old boy during an attempted armed robbery, Milwaukee police say
Milwaukee police say an off-duty Cleveland police officer fatally shot a 17-year-old boy in self-defense during an attempted armed robbery.
The boy was one of four teens shot in separate incidents Sunday. The other three, ages 13, 16 and 19, are expected to survive.
Milwaukee police say the Cleveland officer, 38, shot the 17-year-old boy about 12:15 a.m. Sunday in the 1400 block of North 17th Street, in the King Park neighborhood.
The teen died at the scene. Police said he had a gun.
Investigators determined the Cleveland officer "fired in self-defense" during the attempted robbery, Milwaukee police said in a news release Monday. They released no additional information on the circumstances of the shooting.
Police are looking for two people they believe were also involved in the attempted robbery.
They asked anyone with information to call 414-935-7360 or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 414-224-Tips or use the P3 Tips App.
Three teens were shot in separate incidents later Sunday.
A 13-year-old boy was shot inside a residence about 12:15 p.m. in the 4200 block of North 13th Street.
About an hour later, a 19-year-old man inside his vehicle was shot in the 4400 block of West Locust Street
Then, a 16-year-old boy was struck just after 8 p.m. in the 3000 block of North Richards Street in the Harambee neighborhood.
In all three shootings, police said the circumstances were under investigation and they did not have anyone in custody.
Milwaukee continues to grapple with gun violence across the city. On Friday night, 21 people were shot and injured in the downtown entertainment district in three separate incidents following the Bucks playoff game. In one incident, 17 people were shot.
Milwaukee has recorded 82 homicides so far this year. That's compared to 52 as of the same date in 2021, when the city broke its homicide record for the second straight year. | 2022-05-16T20:00:35Z | www.jsonline.com | Cleveland officer kills teen during robbery, Milwaukee police say | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2022/05/16/cleveland-officer-shoots-kills-teen-during-robbery-milwaukee-police-say/9796492002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2022/05/16/cleveland-officer-shoots-kills-teen-during-robbery-milwaukee-police-say/9796492002/ |
Terence Moore's first impression of Hank Aaron was one of considerable disappointment.
Moore, who went on to a decades-long career in sports journalism and grew close with Aaron, moved to Milwaukee with his family in 1972, though his rooting allegiance remained with his old hometown team, the Cincinnati Reds.
Aaron returned in 1975 and 1976 to play for the Brewers in Milwaukee, the city where he first made his name as one of baseball's legends from 1954-65 with the Milwaukee Braves. But as Moore and his brothers found out, this wasn't that Aaron.
"I can remember that every time his name was mentioned, people went nuts," Moore said. "We were more sad than happy because we grew up knowing the other Hank Aaron. Many of the people in County Stadium obviously knew the other Hank Aaron, too, but it was always amazing to me how much Wisconsin, not just Milwaukee, loved that man.
"He was a sports god. It didn't take very long for me to discover the pecking order of athletic greatness in Wisconsin. Vince Lombardi, Bart Starr and Hank Aaron. ... I was just remembering the Hank I saw (as a younger boy), at Crosley Field, Riverfront Stadium, on television. Now here we are in the bleachers, and there's this overweight guy with a terrible Brewers uniform. It was almost unbearable."
But Moore's first impression, and many baseball fans' final impression, of Aaron was just the beginning. Moore believes his own connection to Milwaukee helped foster a relationship with the baseball icon, long after Milwaukee Journal sports editor Bill Dwyre spoke to Moore's sophomore class at James Madison High School, sparking an interest in Moore to pursue the profession.
Moore's new book, "The Real Hank Aaron," available for purchase May 17, attempts to paint a complete picture of the legend, who died in early 2021. It arrives as the Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves, Aaron's former teams that serendipitously also met in last year's playoffs, face off at American Family Field.
"Hank liked Atlanta, but he loved Milwaukee," Moore said. "When he would talk about his Milwaukee days and Wisconsin days, he'd almost have tears in his eyes and remark about how well he was treated by his fans. He loved the fans there, loved everything about it. Every time we'd talk about Milwaukee, it was almost like a little kid again.
"That was his city to the very end. To say he loved Milwaukee is to say Wisconsin loves beer."
Book an opportunity to cover every angle of Aaron's legacy
The book, enabled by Moore's near quarter-century as a sports columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and becoming the self-proclaimed "Hank Aaron Whisperer," doesn't dwell deeply on Aaron's days in Milwaukee, but it's filled with anecdotes and Aaron's own words about the many chapters of his baseball career.
That includes the much-publicized fraught circumstances around his chase of Babe Ruth's home run record, Aaron's relatively chilly relationship with Barry Bonds as Bonds was on his way to breaking Aaron's mark and the deep parallels between Aaron's story and that of Jackie Robinson.
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But it also goes further. Moore said he wanted to make it clear that Aaron was not one-dimensionally a man who quietly endured the racism of baseball and society at large, but instead continued to fiercely advocate for greater embrace of Black players in the sport after his retirement, and resistance to those ideas remained prevalent. That included when Aaron faced antagonism from inside and outside the Braves when he joined the organization's front office.
Moore doesn't want Aaron's struggle reduced to the 2½ year window when he was closing in on Ruth's mark of 714 career home runs.
"I call it the Muhammad Ali thing," Moore said. "There's a tendency when it comes to strong Black personalities, there's a metamorphosis. Once they become, in the minds of a lot of whites, harmless, then it's a revisionist history of how great they were, how nice they were. Ali went through that. He was hated in the 1960s, Black and white couldn't stand him. Once he couldn't talk and got Parkinson's, it was more like, 'Oh geez, he was so great, had such strong convictions.' Those same people weren't saying that back in the '60s.
"Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson and myself, we all have very similar experiences. One reason I could relate to Hank was that I understood what he'd gone through. ... Once he came to Atlanta and started facing the southern media, which was very racist, that's when he became the bad Black, so to speak. 'He's too big for his britches.' He didn't have trouble with the Milwaukee media, but Hank had always been outspoken. Time has made it seem like he was a guy that always kept his head down."
Moore's own pioneering trail began in Milwaukee
Moore graduated from Miami University in Ohio and became the first full-time Black sports reporter at the Cincinnati Enquirer, then again at the San Francisco Examiner, and then the first Black sports columnist at any paper in the deep south at the AJC. In the book, he frequently shares anecdotes from his own history, from an unsettling racist encounter with a coach on his football team at Madison High School to the time he often matched wits with those inside his own newsroom who were uncomfortable with his point of view.
His parents continued to live in Milwaukee for more than 30 years, and his brother, Darrell, played on the University of Wisconsin baseball team (and held the single-season stolen-base record for a program that went defunct in 1991).
During his time as a reporter, Moore spoke to a number of MLB officials in 1982 who believed MLB had silently endorsed a quota system to artificially depress the volume of African-American ballplayers, and he uncovered scouting reports that included race among the attributes for evaluation. When Moore asked MLB about his findings, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn denied Moore's allegations but also sent a memo to MLB teams telling them to remove race from scouting reports. It was around that time Moore first met Aaron and began relying on him as a resource.
Aaron's fight continued after his playing days as an executive
Aaron joined the Braves front office after his playing career concluded in 1976. Though his work in the player-development office helped equip Atlanta with a string of talented players who made the Braves one of the best franchises in all of pro sports in the 1990s, Moore said Aaron's role with the Braves was often seen as symbolic.
"Hank was regularly ripping baseball for being racist, which it was and which it is," Moore said. "He was getting the (hate) letters when he was a Braves executive. (The sentiment was), 'He needed to keep his damn mouth shut,' from outside in the public, from the media, from the paper I worked for, from inside the Braves, incoming from everywhere. He had the incidents about how the people at the Braves were insinuating, as all of us who are Black (have encountered), that he was lazy, didn't know what he was doing. That was an inspiration to me, to set the record straight and put it out there what this man went through and how he battled through this."
More:Former bat boy fondly remembers Braves heyday and interactions with Hank Aaron
More:'Thanks again, Mr. Aaron': Nearly three decades later, a once-in-a-lifetime meeting remains indelible
Moore said when Robinson died, Aaron felt a responsibility to carry on his legacy of advocacy for Black ballplayers, a conviction that wasn't shared by many other Black Hall of Famers who preferred a less confrontational attitude at the time. Aaron fumed when anyone insinuated that he was speaking out only because local civil-rights leaders put him up to it.
"Particularly whites would say, 'I don't see any fire hoses and attack dogs; you're not getting lynched,' " Moore said of perceptions that racism has abated over time. "That's not the way it's done anymore. Little mind games are being played constantly, even when you're Hank Aaron. That's what I wanted to make clear in the book." | 2022-05-16T20:00:47Z | www.jsonline.com | Former Milwaukee resident writes book on his friend, Hank Aaron | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/05/16/former-milwaukee-resident-writes-book-his-friend-hank-aaron/9750096002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/05/16/former-milwaukee-resident-writes-book-his-friend-hank-aaron/9750096002/ |
With a sleeve covering his left leg under his shorts, Milwaukee Bucks all-star Khris Middleton spoke Monday afternoon about how proud he was of his teammates for pushing the Boston Celtics to a seventh game in the Eastern Conference semifinals – but the all-star said he was never in a position to play Games 6 or 7.
“I wanted to,” he said. “But, working with our training staff and talking to the doctors, they said it was just too high of a risk to go back out there so soon. But I was working my butt of every day trying to find a way to get back out there. But timing wasn’t on my side this time.”
Middleton was diagnosed with a Grade 2 sprain of his left medial collateral ligament, an injury that happened against the Chicago Bulls on April 20.
When asked if he would’ve been able to play in the Eastern Conference finals this week if the Bucks had advanced, Middleton said, “Probably not. Like I said, I thought this was an injury where, you know, you’re able to kind of work through it and it wouldn’t take as long of a time to heal for myself to get back out there. But it just was one of those injuries where I had to take it really serious and listen to the training staff and the doctors and not try and rush and put myself at risk for completely tearing it to get back out there to play.”
He had progressed to some light on-court work during the Boston series, but at this point he said it was a day-to-day evaluation to see how he felt, if there was swelling after working out, and then the clearance that the ligament had totally healed.
But he did say it should heal on its own as his offseason begins.
“I think every day was a step in the right direction,” he said of his recovery. “I had no setbacks, which was something I was extremely happy about, what everybody was extremely happy about. It was just to the point where you can’t push it to the point where you have a setback. So every day I was working to get back out there, but timing wasn’t on my side.” | 2022-05-16T20:00:53Z | www.jsonline.com | Bucks' Khris Middleton discusses his recovery from knee injury | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/05/16/bucks-khris-middleton-discusses-his-recovery-knee-injury/9791725002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/05/16/bucks-khris-middleton-discusses-his-recovery-knee-injury/9791725002/ |
MADISON – The University of Wisconsin athletic department has lost a family member who contributed to one of the more memorable victories in in the history of the football program.
Jeff Mack Sr. died May 8. He was 68.
Mack played flanker under John Jardine and lettered in 1972, 1973 and 1974. His son, Jeff Mack Jr., played linebacker at UW from 2000 through 2003.
The second game of the 1974 season gave Mack the opportunity to help UW record a dramatic home victory over then-No. 4 Nebraska.
UW had suffered a 20-16 loss to the Cornhuskers in Lincoln the previous season but the Badgers entered the rematch confident they could win.
The Badgers trailed, 20-14, in the final quarter and faced second and 17 when quarterback Gregg Bohlig rolled right and looked for Mack down the right sideline.
Bohilig hit Mack in-stride at the Cornhuskers’ 48 and Mack easily outraced the Nebraska defenders to the south end zone.
Vince Lamia added the extra point and safety Steve Wagner recorded a late interception to help seal the 21-20 victory with a in front of a crowd of 73,381.
Mack played football (running back) and basketball (point guard) at Farragut High School in Chicago. As a senior he won the prestigious Knute Rockne Trophy for most outstanding football player in Illinois.
He finished with more than 1,800 all-purpose yards and 13 touchdowns in three seasons at UW. His average of 19.4 yards per reception is No. 3 in program history, behind Tony Simmons (20.1) and Lee Evans (19.8).
UW finished 5-3 in the Big Ten and 7-4 overall in 1974, with the victory over Nebraska the highlight of the season.
Mack is survived by his wife (Kirbie) and three children – Jeff Jr., Maaina and Anisha. He was involved in coaching and worked with the Southside Raiders, South Madison Spartans and West High Regents.
Visitation is scheduled to be held from noon to 1 p.m. Friday at the Fountain of Life Church, located at 633 West Badger Road in Madison. The funeral service is to be held from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, donation are requested to: Southside Raiders Youth Football & Cheerleading Program, P.O. Box 258075, 53725-8075. | 2022-05-16T22:54:44Z | www.jsonline.com | Former Wisconsin football player Jeff Mack dies; was key in 1974 upset | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2022/05/16/former-wisconsin-football-player-jeff-mack-dies-key-1974-upset/9799822002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2022/05/16/former-wisconsin-football-player-jeff-mack-dies-key-1974-upset/9799822002/ |
Willy Adames’ hopes of playing 162 games this season have been dashed.
The shortstop was out of the lineup Monday for the first time this season as the Milwaukee Brewers opened a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves at American Family Field, his absence the result of the sprained left ankle suffered in Sunday's victory at Miami.
And there might be multiple games missed due to the injury, which occurred on a slide into home plate in the top of the first inning. Adames remained in the game for the bottom half of the first before being replaced by Luis Urías.
"He's sore today," manager Craig Counsell said. "We'll have our doctors look at him this afternoon and we'll go from there.
"I would say the IL is a possibility."
Urías started at shortstop Monday and also batted second, which is normally where Adames resides. Adames’ nine home runs entering play Monday were tied him for the National League lead along with teammate Hunter Renfroe and three other players.
More:'The Real Hank Aaron,' written by a longtime journalist with Milwaukee ties, covers every angle of Aaron's struggles and legacy
The Brewers could choose to roll with Urías at shortstop for the short term, too; he had 103 major-league starts to his credit there, although his defensive lapses early last season at least contributed to the Brewers' sense of urgency in trading for Adames.
"I don't think this ever falls on one guy," Counsell said. "Luis is our next shortstop, but I look at Jace (Peterson) as the guy who really covers us here because we're not playing with many extra players for a couple of days, and Jace's ability to basically play everywhere is what makes the puzzle work.
"When somebody gets hurt and you're trying to give him some time without making a move, everybody fills in around him. And that's how its going to work for the next couple days until we make a decision."
There are a few other ways the team could go, as well, if Adames winds up on the IL.
The most interesting option would be to add No. 6 prospect Brice Turang to the 40-man roster (there's one spot available) and recall him from Nashville and give him some opportunities to play there.
"Absolutely, I think you could see him in the big leagues this year," is how Counsell responded this spring when asked about Turang possibly making his debut this season. "Absolutely."
Turang, 22, is helping his cause with the way he's played thus far for the Sounds.
Through 31 games entering Monday, he was batting .288 with three homers and a team-best 21 runs batted in to go along with an OPS of .778.
He's also displayed the versatility the Brewers love by playing five full games in center field, his firstr experience at the position.
Pablo Reyes could be another possibility; he's already on the 40-man roster and has made his only two major-league starts at shortstop for the Brewers last season.
He's hitting .200/1/6/.629 in 21 games with the Sounds.
While Adames remains unavailable, Andrew McCutchen could be close to returning from the COVID-19 list.
He last played May 6 at Atlanta before showing symptoms and testing positive the following day. McCutchen, who'd served as the primary designated hitter, is batting .240 with two homers and 14 RBI with an OPS of .641 in 25 games.
"He's got to get clearance from doctors," Counsell said.
"It'll be a quick ramp-up. This is not a long process for him to get back ready but we have to get him back in the building."
Not long after Counsell addressed reporters, McCutchen tweeted "I'm cleared".
The Brewers did make a couple of roster moves before the game, reinstating left-hander Brent Suter from the paternity list and placing right-hander Jandel Gustave on the IL with a right hamstring strain.
Suter drove home from Cincinnati last Wednesday night and his wife, Erin, gave birth to the couple's second son, Layton Lee, the following evening. Both wife and child are doing well, Suter said.
Suter was able to keep sharp in the meantime by playing catch in his backyard with his father, Mike. | 2022-05-17T01:28:14Z | www.jsonline.com | Sprained left ankle could land Brewers' Willy Adames on injured list | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/05/16/sprained-left-ankle-could-land-brewers-willy-adames-injured-list/9791842002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/05/16/sprained-left-ankle-could-land-brewers-willy-adames-injured-list/9791842002/ |
Bucks players react to the shootings outside Fiserv Forum: ‘What are we doing?’
Available to speak to reporters for the first time since several shootings injured 21 people following their loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday night, several members of the Milwaukee Bucks spoke up about the violence that erupted a short distance from Fiserv Forum.
“It was scary,” Khris Middleton said. “I had family at the game, I know everybody had family out there, friends out there. It’s definitely sad to hear a shooting like that with so many people gathered just to cheer us on.
“Hopefully we find a way to not let this happen as much or at all, especially in public places or gatherings like this where people come out to celebrate and have a good time with their family and friends.”
Bobby Portis said the players were told by team security that they would not be able to leave the arena for at least 20 to 40 minutes after word of the initial shooting reached club officials.
“It definitely hurts a lot because we embrace this city, we support this city and we try and do our best to make this city as best as we can so obviously it’s hurtful,” Portis said.
“Definitely my heart goes out to all the people that was affected with it.”
Pat Connaughton wore a T-shirt that read “Protect kids not guns” as the team headed to Boston on Saturday. Individual players and the team have not been shy over the years in expressing their views when it comes to events that happen in and around the city and the state.
The Boston Celtics held a moment of silence for the victims of the Milwaukee shootings, as well as the victims of Saturday's mass shooting at a Buffalo grocery store.
“I think from what I’ve seen, sports is such a great way to bring the community together," Connaughton said about choosing to wear the shirt. "I’ve said this before, when we won it in Game 6 last year for those three hours nobody cared about race, religion, political, economical, whatever differences. Everyone was rooting for the Milwaukee Bucks. Everyone was having fun. Everybody was partying that we won it, right?
“I think sport has a real unique platform to bring the community together. And, the Milwaukee Bucks themselves, especially in the city of Milwaukee, has a unique platform to bring the community of Milwaukee and the greater state of Wisconsin together. I think in the world that we live in today, it’s important to use your voice to preach trying to do more good.
“I think, weirdly, there’s a lot of negatives that get publicized more than positives. So, how do we kind of change that narrative so that the next generation of student-athletes or pro athletes or community leaders have a chance to continue to change the world for good and find ways to impact their community positively and most importantly bring everybody together and take care of each other and have each other’s backs, kind of like we do here with the Bucks?”
Wesley Matthews, who grew up in Madison and went to college at Marquette University, took a somber tone when reflecting on what happened in Milwaukee on Friday and the mass shootings that followed Saturday in Buffalo and Sunday in Laguna Woods, California.
“It hurt. It hurt,” Matthews said of hearing the news of the violence Friday night. “This is a great city. It’s a great city. There’s great people in it, and I’ve never been to Buffalo but violence, senselessness, there just isn’t a need for it. There isn’t a reason for it.
“My prayers and thoughts are with all the victims and everybody affected by it. You know, it’s gotta stop. It’s gotta stop. There’s so much to life. There’s so much life if we look for it.
“My heart breaks when I hear stuff like that. I just wish better. I want better. I think we all do. You don’t want to worry about walking your dog or being outside with your kid just enjoying the evening. You don’t want to worry about things like that. I guess the message is just violence is not it. It’s not it. My prayers and condolences and thoughts are with all those that are and were affected. | 2022-05-17T01:28:20Z | www.jsonline.com | Bucks players react to shootings outside Fiserv Forum, elsewhere | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/05/16/bucks-players-react-shootings-outside-fiserv-forum-elsewhere/9800502002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/05/16/bucks-players-react-shootings-outside-fiserv-forum-elsewhere/9800502002/ |
George Carlin documentary shines a light on his breakthrough moments at Milwaukee's Summerfest and Lake Geneva's Playboy Club
A new documentary on the life, career and legacy of George Carlin highlights two seminal moments in the comedian's evolution — each happening at a landmark Wisconsin entertainment destination.
The two-part "George Carlin's American Dream," directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, debuts on HBO May 20 and 21, with the entire four-hour documentary streaming on HBO Max starting May 20.
The first half charts Carlin's evolution from a traditional standup comic to the groundbreaking, controversial performer who redefined the nature of comedy. The second half focuses on his reinvention as an angry, no-holds-barred critic of duplicity and self-deception in American life. (A famous Carlin line, often repeated in the documentary: "It's the American dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.")
“People will say to me sometimes, ‘Well, what are you so angry about?’" Carlin says in an interview at the start of "George Carlin's American Dream." "What they think is anger is a real contempt for the choices that my fellow humans have made. I just feel betrayal by the (expletive) in America that’s all around us.”
Apatow, the comedian-turned-director behind some of the recent decades' most influential comedies ("The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "Knocked Up," "Trainwreck"), and Bonfiglio use a mix of in-depth interviews, Carlin family home movies, standup clips and Carlin's own writings to put together a generally affectionate but mostly clear-eyed portrait of the most influential comedian of the past half-century.
"George is still relevant," comedian and commentator W. Kamau Bell says about Carlin, who died in 2008 at age 71. "He changed comedy three or four times, and he's still talking to us."
George Carlin's fateful Playboy Club show
The documentary spends some time on one of the turning points in Carlin's career — a fateful standup set at what was then the Playboy Club in Lake Geneva, on Nov. 28, 1970.
At that show, Carlin, who till then had been doing a pretty traditional nightclub comedy routine, launched into his "new" act, featuring now-familiar bits ridiculing America's war in Vietnam and the treatment of Muhammad Ali, who had been stripped of his world heavyweight title because he'd refused induction into the Army over the war.
In the documentary, his opening act that night, a young singer named Bette Midler, describes the scene.
“The people who were in the audience, I guess, didn’t think it was so funny," recalls Midler, who described Lake Geneva at the time as "Squaresville." "They took such offense that they started walking out — they started walking out in droves. I’d never seen anything like it.”
Within days, Carlin was fired from the gig — and found trouble landing any other work. But he was determined to follow his new path.
“It felt like a leap into the unknown,” Midler says, admiringly.
George Carlin's 1972 Summerfest arrest
Carlin's more famous moment in Wisconsin, of course, was the one that got him arrested.
Doing a set at Summerfest on July 21, 1972, Carlin went through much of the material on his latest album, "Class Clown," including "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television."
RELATED:From George Carlin's arrest to the Rolling Stones show, relive Summerfest's 10 most memorable milestones
After playing clips from the actual performance — Carlin often recorded his shows, and his family has been posting some of the classic moments, including the Summerfest gig — the documentary shows the comedian bantering about it with Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show" a couple of months later.
“What did they do to you in Milwaukee?” Carson asks Carlin.
“Well, what did they try to do to me … ?" Carlin replies, going into the old Blatz Beer jingle, “I’m from Milwaukee, and I ought to know …”
“The routine worked everywhere, really, very well … ," Carlin tells Carson, referring to the "Seven Words" bit, "Except in Milwaukee, where they must really be bad words. One policeman took exception … apparently he hadn’t been listening in the locker room.”
Carlin was arrested by a Milwaukee police officer who happened to be at Summerfest with his family. In the documentary, Carlin's daughter Kelly explains she was backstage at the show with her mother, Brenda. The promoter rushed over to Brenda, telling her that the police were going to arrest the comedian. Brenda went into action.
“My mom knows that my dad is carrying weed and coke in his pockets," Kelly remembers in the documentary. "She grabbed a glass of water and walked out on to the stage, whispering in his ear, ‘Cops are here, exit Stage Left.’”
Carlin left the stage, Kelly says, emptying his pocket as he went.
The documentary shows the front page of the Milwaukee alternative newspaper, the Bugle American, with a picture of Carlin being led away by police.
It also shows how quickly the case fell apart. Tom Schneider, then a young assistant district attorney, had been at Carlin's show. In the office the next day, Schneider says in the documentary, Carlin was brought in, accused of disturbing the peace.
Schneider's boss, who knew he'd been at the show, asked him if Carlin had disturbed the peace; Schneider told him Carlin received a standing ovation.
The charges were dismissed in December 1972. | 2022-05-17T14:24:15Z | www.jsonline.com | HBO documentary highlights George Carlin at Summerfest, Playboy Club | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/television-radio/2022/05/17/hbo-documentary-highlights-george-carlin-summerfest-playboy-club/9702605002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/television-radio/2022/05/17/hbo-documentary-highlights-george-carlin-summerfest-playboy-club/9702605002/ |
A new, more effective option for radiation therapy is coming for cancer patients at UW Health, one that experts hope will not only make treatment more affordable, but also more empowering for patients.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison affiliated health system announced Tuesday it has struck a deal with Leo Cancer Care, a Middleton-based medical products company, to be the first medical center in the world to use the company's new radiation device.
The device, dubbed "Marie" in honor of radiotherapy pioneer and Nobel Prize-winner Marie Curie, allows patients to receive radiation treatment while sitting upright, instead of the usual way of lying flat on their backs. And, instead of rotating hundreds of tons of metal around the patient to deliver the radiation beams, Marie rotates the patients, turning their bodies to the precise angle at which the radiation needs to be delivered to treat the person's cancer.
UW Health expects to start treating patients with the device in 2024, when construction on its new cancer treatment center is scheduled to be complete.
There are several benefits to treating cancer patients while they're sitting upright, said Paul Harari, chair of UW's Department of Human Oncology.
One is that sitting upright is a more natural position for the body. When a patient lies down, their organs move, making it harder to target only the cancer.
He used the example of breast cancer patients: when they lie on their backs, their breasts flatten against their chest. Especially for patients with left breast cancer, that puts the area needing treatment very close to healthy heart and lung tissue.
"Now you're bringing radiation beams from angles, and we're always calculating: OK, we gave 6% of the dose to a sliver of the lung, and we gave 1% of the dose to the heart, because it's right there," Harari said.
With the patient upright, the breast can be held away from the body, delivering virtually no radiation to the other organs.
"That old theme of everybody lies on a table for X-rays and treatment, it's really time we broke that into the modern era," he said.
There are two types of radiation therapy available today. The most common option worldwide uses X-rays to deliver radiation by intersecting multiple beams on the tumor.
The more sophisticated option, which the Marie device and others use, is a high-energy proton beam. It is much more precise and has a lower threat of hitting other areas of the body.
The proton therapy is one doctors rely on to treat particularly complicated cancers, like those near vital organs. It is also preferred worldwide when treating children, because they can face lifelong growth and development issues if radiation hits areas beyond the cancer, Harari said.
But proton therapy is expensive. That fact brings out the other appeal of Leo Cancer Care's technology: While there are other devices that deliver proton beam radiation, the cost of doing so with the Marie is roughly cut in half.
That's in part because the cost of more traditional devices comes not only from the technology itself, but also because building infrastructure has to be strong enough to bear the weight of the equipment.
The Marie's footprint is about 16 times smaller than the devices that require patients to lie down, said Stephen Towe, Leo Cancer Care's CEO. A project to install the upright radiation device generally comes out to about $20 million, compared to $40 million with the devices in which patients lie down, he said.
"This is a way of making proton therapy truly affordable for the masses," Towe said. "There's only 250 proton therapy rooms in the world today. There are 15,000 (X-ray beam machines). And the only reason for that disparity is cost."
Towe called Leo Cancer Care a Wisconsin "success story," noting the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation is an investor in the company and Leo's co-founder is UW-Madison Emeritus Professor Thomas "Rock" Mackie, a biomedical engineer.
Harari agreed that the technology could be "a game-changer," and that other hospitals will be watching closely to see if the technology will be something they too want to invest in.
A new way of doing things
Harari — who has been treating cancer patients for 35 years — said the idea of lying people on their backs for radiation treatment harkens back to an early way of delivering radiation therapy to cancer patients.
Lying patients down for radiation treatments was necessary in the era before CT scans made it so doctors could look inside a patient's body to pinpoint a growing cancer. Because of that, cancer patients were generally diagnosed much closer to death. Lying them down was, at least in part, to put them at ease.
"I think it is true that the reason people lie down is not because it is better for them to be lying down," Harari said. "It's a way in which it was conceptualized to do so."
The idea behind sitting patients upright — in addition to saving money and being more precise — ultimately comes down to giving patients agency and allowing them to look their doctor in the eye as they battle the disease together.
It's more humane, Harari said.
For older patients, who make up the majority of cancer cases, sitting up can be more comfortable than lying on a hard surface for the treatments, which can run from five to 30 minutes at a time.
And for young children — who can have such a hard time lying still that they need general anesthesia in order to receive the treatment — Harari hopes the upright technology will make it so doctors can strap a child in the chair, flip on a cartoon, and do the whole procedure without having to deal with the sedation, the breathing tubes and the hours of recovery afterward.
Given that focus on the patient experience, both Harari and Towe said they'll ultimately be looking for signs of the technology's success in the quality of life that cancer survivors have after being treated using the machine.
The chance of having a treatment that is less likely to damage healthy parts of the body can make a difference on so much, Harari said, including allowing more people to work, have children, and just generally live life.
"We're trying to create something, a movement really, to be a more human way to deliver radiation therapy," Towe said. "To try to put some of the control back in the hands of the patient, take them away from feeling like a passenger and truly like someone who is involved in the treatment." | 2022-05-17T14:24:39Z | www.jsonline.com | UW Health announces 'game-changing' new plan for cancer radiation | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/health/2022/05/17/uw-health-announces-game-changing-new-plan-cancer-radiation/9761815002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/health/2022/05/17/uw-health-announces-game-changing-new-plan-cancer-radiation/9761815002/ |
An event June 11 in Milwaukee: What we can learn from Marlin Dixon about childhood trauma and incarceration
A series of stories last month on childhood trauma and youth incarceration focusing on a young man involved in a beating death as a teenager continues to reverberate through the community.
In the series, I described how 14-year-old Marlin Dixon was among a group of young people who attacked and killed Charlie Young Jr. The attack took place after Dixon intervened in an altercation between Young and Dixon’s 13-year-old friend, who had pelted the man with an egg.
Dixon acted because he was angry, he recalled. But years later, it became apparent that a long history of traumatic experiences was underpinning that anger. Dixon spent 18 years behind bars for the crime and still has 22 years of extended supervision. He was released from prison in 2020.
More:At age 15, Marlin Dixon went to prison for a killing that appalled the nation. Now free, he's determined to prove his life has value.
To dig deeper into ongoing concerns over childhood trauma and the disproportionate incarceration of people of color in Milwaukee, the Journal Sentinel is hosting a community dialogue on June 11. Join us from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. that day at The Table, a community gathering space at 5305 W. Capitol Drive.
Our goal: to talk to local and state leaders about how to ensure that young people receive the help they need.
This program is made possible by generous support of Wellpoint Care Network and the O'Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism at Marquette University. It's also sponsored by Listen MKE, a partnership between the Ideas Lab at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; WUWM 89.7-FM, Milwaukee's NPR; Milwaukee PBS; and the Milwaukee Public Library.
This event is free and lunch will be served.
Getting at why kids kill
The keynote speaker will be Tessa Duvall, an investigative reporter for the Louisville Courier Journal specializing in policing, criminal justice, and children’s issues. Duvall is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and a Peabody winner.
For her 2018 reporting project, “When Kids Kill,” for the Florida Times-Union, Duvall spent 20 months examining the Florida counties with the highest rate of kids arrested for murder and manslaughter. She wanted to know why, so she reached out to the young people behind bars to ask.
She found a common theme: trauma. And not the result of just one incident. The kids often were under constant stress in their homes, their neighborhoods, or sometimes their schools.
One person, Marcus Wilson, received a 20-year sentence when he was only 17.
He told Duvall, “My mother took drugs over her kids, and with men, she was easily manipulated and persuaded to do things. My mother would always, always take her frustration out on us.”
Family dysfunction was a constant theme, with trauma from bad parenting passed down from one generation to the next.
Duvall’s reporting showed the costs of housing kids who commit murder.
It cost $20,000 to house an inmate for a year, and taxpayers spend at least $611,000 to house one juvenile killer for the duration of a 30-year sentence.
Bottom line: It makes more sense to address the needs of children on the front end than the back end.
Howard Fuller: It's not only about education
The problems Duvall discovered remain ever present in Milwaukee.
Former Milwaukee Public Schools Superintended Howard Fuller has changed his mind about what is most needed to address kids' needs. For years, Fuller stressed reading and literacy as keys to lifting children out of poverty, but during an April discussion on “Building a Stronger Milwaukee” at Alverno College, Fuller said he's come to believe that the problems are more complicated than that.
“If kids come to school and they have no clothes. If kids come to school and they are hungry. Kids come to school from communities where violence is a part of their everyday life. Kids come to school from totally economically deprived families,” Fuller said. It takes more than just making sure that kids show up for class.
“If we want our kids to thrive in a school, they have to be in a thriving community," Fuller said. "They have to be in a community that cares about them. They have to be in a community that protects them. A community that loves them. A community that nurtures them.”
Fuller has long declared that if we fail to love, protect, and nurture the Marlin Dixons of the world when they are ages 3, 4, and 5, then we don’t want to see them at 13, 14, and 15 because by then it is too late.
“If we cared about our children, we would not have them living in the condition in which they live,” he said.
Why we're hosting this event
My report on Dixon prompted words of encouragement and offers to help. Here is what some of you had to say:
“Your story on Marlin is uplifting, educational, and quite sad. I’m rooting for him, but I wonder if there is an opportunity for his probationary period to be shortened or altered? It seems it is setting him up for failure and it doesn’t seem fair," Sarah Wester wrote. "Also, I live in the Falls and I’m glad he has found a safe home here. I hope our community is treating him well. Thanks for writing this article. I rarely read full articles, sorry to admit, but this one got me!”
“I work as a pediatric nurse, including with incarcerated youths who have been involved in violent incidents," wrote Lisa Scherrer. "The number of children we see weekly who are abused, neglected, and exposed to violence is devastating. In Waukesha County, there are many who simply do not care about what is happening in Milwaukee. … I’m white, and I know that gave me a leg up in many circumstances where I would not have otherwise been given the benefit of the doubt, despite being a 'good' kid. How do we make the children of Milwaukee real to those in the suburbs? I believe your story is a first step because it brings a level of humanity to an unfathomable situation.”
“Beautiful work on the lives of all involved," wrote Paul Reilly. "I recently retired after 18-plus years as a judge (Waukesha County Circuit Court and District 2 Court of Appeals). The disconnect between the competency of those representing the accused who have the means to pay vs. those representing the indigent is appalling and in my opinion the cause of many excessive sentences (and predominantly to people of color)."
These responses and hundreds of others are the reason we are hosting the June 11 event. We hope you can come.
What we can learn from Marlin Dixon: A special event June 11
What: Discuss childhood trauma and incarceration with community experts and leaders. Featured speakers: Marlin Dixon and reporter Tessa Duvall. Hosted by James E. Causey.
When: 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturday, June 11
Where: The Table, 5305 W. Capitol Drive
How to register: Go this this site and fill out the form for free tickets: https://bit.ly/3a8zHFP
What you need to know: The event is free but space is limited so you must register to attend. Lunch will be served. For more information, contact James E. Causey at jcausey@gannett.com or (414) 313-2077. | 2022-05-17T14:24:45Z | www.jsonline.com | June 11 in Milwaukee: What we can learn from Marlin Dixon about trauma | https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinion/2022/05/17/june-11-milwaukee-what-we-can-learn-marlin-dixon-trauma/9711010002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinion/2022/05/17/june-11-milwaukee-what-we-can-learn-marlin-dixon-trauma/9711010002/ |
The Mequon-Thiensville School Board has hired a North Shore area principal to fill its executive director of educational services role.
Kevin Deering is currently the principal of John Long Middle School in the Grafton School District. He will replace outgoing assistant superintendent of educational services Jeridon Clark, who is leaving to become the Cedarburg School District's new superintendent, according to a district news release.
Clark had been the Mequon-Thiensville School District's assistant superintendent of educational services for the past four years.
Deering will start July 1.
Deering has been principal at his current school for the past six years, and also served as an assistant principal, athletic director and high school science teacher in the Fond du Lac, Pulaski and Appleton school districts, the district's news release said.
Deering earned his bachelor's degree in education and broad field science from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and his master's degree in educational leadership from National-Louis University, according to notes from the board's May 16 meeting.
"Mr. Deering’s enthusiasm and spirit for providing students with the resources, supports, and systems they need to succeed is infectious,” said Mequon-Thiensville School District Superintendent Matthew Joynt in the district's news release. “His collaborative approach and past leadership experiences will provide our teams with fresh perspectives in alignment with our mission and vision for the future of education.”
Deering "has created a positive school culture through his use of strong communication, relationship building, and use of teamwork with school leadership teams," the release said
The district also said that Deering's "strong student-centered focus on creating a continuous improvement culture, rooted in the belief of collective efficacy and that all students can learn at high levels" stood out during the interview process, its news release said.
"I am excited and honored to be joining the MTSD team,” said Deering in the news release. “I look forward to working with staff, students, and families to continue the tradition of excellence and find new ways to grow our instructional resources and practices." | 2022-05-17T18:35:30Z | www.jsonline.com | Deering to become MTSD executive director of educational services | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/news/mequon/2022/05/17/deering-become-mtsd-executive-director-educational-services/9807496002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/news/mequon/2022/05/17/deering-become-mtsd-executive-director-educational-services/9807496002/ |
The first-ever "Wheel of Fortune" tour is making stops in Milwaukee and Madison later this year.
"Wheel of Fortune LIVE!" is coming to Madison's Overture Center for the Arts Dec. 6, and the Miller High Life Theatre in Milwaukee Dec.7.
The tour, with more than 60 stops altogether, starts in Owensboro, Kentucky, on Sept. 8. The live show, similar to the syndicated television game show of the same name, is not for broadcast.
Don't get your hopes up about seeing Pat Sajak or Vanna White in person: Hosts for the show will be announced later.
Tickets start at $29.50, and go on sale at 10 a.m. May 20, with pre-sale availability starting at noon May 19. VIP packages, with early access and more, are also available. For tickets and more information, go to WheelofFortuneLive.com.
The TV version of "Wheel of Fortune" airs weeknights at 6:30 on WDJT-TV (Channel 58). | 2022-05-17T18:35:54Z | www.jsonline.com | 'Wheel of Fortune' live touring show coming to Milwaukee and Madison | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/television-radio/2022/05/17/wheel-fortune-live-touring-show-coming-milwaukee-and-madison/9805465002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/television-radio/2022/05/17/wheel-fortune-live-touring-show-coming-milwaukee-and-madison/9805465002/ |
Body of 75-year-old man recovered after two homes catch fire on Milwaukee's west side Monday
The body of a 75-year-old man was recovered after two homes caught fire on Milwaukee’s west side Monday morning.
It is the seventh fatality from fires in Milwaukee this year, according to the Fire Department.
Shortly after 10:30 a.m., Milwaukee’s fire and police departments received a report of a fully involved structure fire in a home along the 1900 block of North 34th Street, in the Walnut Hill neighborhood of the city’s west side.
More:Wauwatosa house fire injures one firefighter early Tuesday morning. He's expected to make a full recovery.
Upon arrival, fire crews were informed that an elderly man was unable to escape the building, but rescue efforts with ladders were blocked by heavy smoke and fire, forcing firefighters to retreat and take only defensive operations, according to a Milwaukee Fire Department news release. The body was located hours later.
But as crews tried controlling the fire, flames spread to a home next door, where no injuries were reported. The American Red Cross is assisting three adults from the first home and six adults from the second.
More:Madison police investigating arson, threat at office of prominent anti-abortion group
Police said the cause is still under investigation. Fire Department Battalion Chief Thomas Pollock said it is unclear if the first home had a working smoke detector, but fire officials planned to go door-to-door in the neighborhood Tuesday afternoon to hand them out for free.
The department also said in a news release that anyone can arrange for a Milwaukee firefighter to install a smoke detector in their home for free by calling the smoke alarm hotline: 414-286-8980.
Anyone with any information about the fire is asked to contact Milwaukee police at 414-935-7360, or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 414-224-Tips or use the P3 Tips app. | 2022-05-17T18:36:06Z | www.jsonline.com | 75-year-old dies in house fire on Milwaukee's west side Monday | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/05/17/75-year-old-dies-house-fire-milwaukees-west-side-monday/9807548002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/05/17/75-year-old-dies-house-fire-milwaukees-west-side-monday/9807548002/ |
Schools in the Milwaukee metro area are more segregated for Black and white students than any other metro area of the country, according to a report published Tuesday by the Century Foundation, a progressive East Coast think tank.
It’s not surprising for Milwaukee, which frequently tops lists of most segregated regions and has a long history of racist housing policies.
The foundation looked at 270,102 students in the four-county area of Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha. It gave the area a Black-white segregation rating of .73, where 0 represents no demographic differences between schools and 1 represents total separation of Black and white students.
Several areas are just below Milwaukee's rating for Black-white segregation between schools, with the Newark, Chicago and Detroit areas within .03 points. The average rating across all metro areas was much lower, coming out to 0.24.
The foundation also gave the Milwaukee region a rating of 0.5 for segregation between white students and all students of color, and a .46 rating for separation of students who are and are not considered from low-income families, based on 2017-18 federal data.
The report comes on the 68th anniversary of the May 17, 1954, U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which ruled racial segregation of students to be unconstitutional.
It also comes as the Century Foundation is supporting recent work by local education leaders to team up on efforts to integrate schools in the region and provide more equitable resources to all schools.
"The promise of Brown is still not fulfilled," said Bob Peterson, president of the school board for Milwaukee Public Schools. "It's an important anniversary for people to step back and think about where the future is."
Leaders renew integration talks after decades of efforts
A decade after Brown v. Board, Lloyd Barbee and the Milwaukee United School Integration Committee (MUSIC) famously campaigned to end persistent segregation in MPS, as Black students were often bused to white-majority schools but taught in separate rooms.
Barbee ultimately sued in federal court, and in 1976, Judge John Reynolds ordered MPS to desegregate.
In response, some, including Peterson who was involved at the time as an activist and would soon start teaching at MPS, proposed a two-way busing program through which some students from the north and south sides would swap schools, evenly distributing the burden of busing across populations.
Instead, the district opted for a “voluntary” busing system, still in place today, involving citywide specialty schools like MacDowell Montessori and Rufus King High School meant to attract students from a cross-section of neighborhoods.
Community organizer Larry Harwell, an advocate for two-way busing, argued the district’s method effectively burdened Black students with busing across the city, as many of their neighborhood schools were shuttered or replaced with specialty schools. Far fewer white students were busing out of their neighborhoods.
Harwell also warned that as Black students were bused into majority-white schools, their needs would take a backseat to those of white students, they would experience discrimination, and the district would lose Black teachers. He pushed instead for equitable resources for majority-Black schools.
When in 1984 MPS sued suburban districts over their resistance to integration, there were other proposals floated, including redrawing district lines across the community to to include parts of the city and suburbs together, attorney Bill Lynch told WUWM.
Instead, officials doubled down on busing, expanding the Chapter 220 program that provided busing for city students to attend suburban schools, and vice versa (but mostly the former). That program is now being phased out.
Some students who participated in that program have said it gave them access to more educational resources, while they've also shared stories of experiencing racism, exclusion and challenges with having to bus far from their homes and communities.
"It was desegregation without integration," wrote Mary Pattillo, a graduate of the 220 program who now chairs the Department of African American Studies at Northwestern University.
"The material and spiritual solutions cannot be realized through the co-location of Black and White bodies alone, but must include the real stuff of equality," Patillo continued, calling for broader public health equity and "schools that compensate for inequalities in family resources."
On April 8 this year, school leaders from Milwaukee and suburban districts gathered at North Division High School to take up discussions anew, this time not through litigation.
The work follows a 2020 resolution from Peterson and MPS board vice president Sequanna Taylor to develop a regional plan to desegregate schools and reduce inequities.
As part of that commitment, MPS joined the Century Foundation's Bridges Collaborative, which offers resources for integration efforts around the country and co-sponsored the event April 8.
With 45 education leaders from eight regional school districts, the group began brainstorming a wide range of ideas — from joint summer school programs, to a campaign to better fund MPS as part of reparations for housing discrimination.
Peterson said the group is planning a retreat to continue discussions. He encouraged residents in the metro area to ask their school district leaders to get involved with the group.
Peterson said a push for equitable funding for MPS must be part of any work for integration.
"Hopefully, school districts around the state will join with some of the urban school districts that have already voiced strong opinions about what the state legislature needs to do to serve all kids well," he said. "That's going to be a theme that's woven through our work."
More:Theresa Robinson battled to desegregate Milwaukee Public Schools. 'Mama T' wanted all kids to have a great education.
More:Can schooling be done well in Milwaukee? Just take a look at the Seeds of Health K-12 School District | 2022-05-17T18:36:18Z | www.jsonline.com | Milwaukee schools rated highest for Black-white segregation | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2022/05/17/milwaukee-schools-rated-highest-black-white-segregation/9800983002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2022/05/17/milwaukee-schools-rated-highest-black-white-segregation/9800983002/ |
MADISON – Asked once if he knew how to find the Kohl Center, former Appleton resident Gus Yalden made it clear he didn’t require a GPS device.
“With my eyes closed,” Yalden responded.
The 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward who played this past season at Asheville School in North Carolina, plans to spend plenty of time at the Kohl center in the next few years.
Yalden announced Tuesday he has given Wisconsin a commitment for the 2023 class. He is the second player to commit to UW for that class, joining Michigan guard John Blackwell.
"I grew up a Wisconsin fan," Yalden said during his announcement on Instagram. "Being from Appleton, Wisconsin basketball just means more. When they went to the 2015 national championship – you can ask my mom – the day after I cried and didn’t go to school because I was so sad.
"It just means more to me. I’ve been to Camp Randall, the Kohl Center a million times. It is a place that my family calls home and there’s no place like home."
Yalden accumulated offers over the last few years and that list of schools included Iowa, Marquette, Florida State, Illinois, Louisville, Arkansas, Auburn, Rutgers and Nebraska.
However, he took his official visit to UW earlier this month and quickly trimmed his final list to UW, Rutgers, Nebraska and College of Charleston before choosing to play for Greg Gard.
“He is really versatile,” Asheville coach Nick Whitmore said. “He is obviously talented with his back to the basket but he can stretch the defense. The way we play, there is a lot of fluidity in the offense. We like bigs that can make reads, can play in ball screens, that can pass, handle and shoot. …
“He can lead the break. He can rip and go off rebounds. He was effective with his back to the basket. But you can play him on the perimeter as well.”
Yalden isn’t an explosive athlete who consistently plays above the rim but his overall skill and feel for the game led him to be nicknamed Baby Jokic, after Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.
“I think it is his feel,” Whitmore said. “It is the Larry Bird thing. Larry Bird’s not a great athlete but he looked like he was because he had such high feel.
“He makes the game look slow because he always understands where the next read is going to be.”
Yalden traveled a circuitous path to committing to UW.
He was born in Maryland but moved around with his family, in part because of job opportunities presented to his mother. As a result, he lived in Nebraska and then Appleton, where he flourished in middle school. After spending part of his freshman year at Appleton Xavier High School, Yalden bounced from Colorado to California and then to IMG Academy in Florida.
Then injuries hit.
Yalden suffered a fracture in his right foot in December 2020 but the injury wasn’t discovered until the next month. He underwent surgery in February 2021 and returned to the court in April. The surgery wasn’t successful, however, and Yalden began experiencing issues with the foot again. He kept playing but suffered a more severe break in July and had to undergo a second surgery.
After undergoing the second surgery, Yalden enrolled at Asheville School for the 2021-22 school year. He wasn’t expected to return to the court until this spring, but the injury healed more quickly than anticipated and he played most of the season.
“He was invested in his rehab,” Whitmore said, “and he got back sooner than we thought. He integrated really well.
“We played five out and he was at the top of the key making reads. He is a great passer. He is an efficient player and he is productive.”
Yalden was asked what he thinks he can bring to UW.
"I think Wisconsin basketball is getting a talented power forward who plays hard," he said, "works well in the classroom, is wanting to win, wanting to bring them the first national championship since 1941." | 2022-05-17T18:36:30Z | www.jsonline.com | Gus Yalden commits to Wisconsin men's basketball for 2023 class | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2022/05/17/gus-yalden-commits-wisconsin-mens-basketball-2023-class/9800540002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2022/05/17/gus-yalden-commits-wisconsin-mens-basketball-2023-class/9800540002/ |
These are the major-league (and minor-league) baseball players from Wisconsin in 2022
Former University of Wisconsin-Whitewater pitcher Lake Bachar on Sunday made a long-awaited return to the mound with some stellar results.
Bachar, an Illinois native who played both football and baseball at Whitewater, threw the first three innings of a combined no-hitter with the Class AA San Antonio Missions, an affiliate of the San Diego Padres. It was Bachar's first start since 2019; he didn't pitch during the shutdown of the 2020 season and suffered an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery, sidelining him for 2021.
Three relievers pitched behind Bachar's opening three frames to combine on the no-no.
Though he didn't play high school baseball in Wisconsin, surely we can claim him as an honorary Wisconsinite, right? Led by Gavin Lux, Owen Miller, Daulton Varsho and former Brewers reliever J.P. Feyereisen, Wisconsin has continued to make an impact at the big-league level, but who's next from the Badger State to make a major-league debut?
More:Whitewater alumnus Lake Bachar's minor-league baseball team is going all out with custom jerseys to support dad's cancer fight
More:A pair of potential high MLB draft picks headline the 11 Division I college baseball players to watch from Wisconsin in 2022
J.P. Feyereisen (River Falls), Tampa Bay Rays. After his trade from the Brewers last year in the exchange that brought Willy Adames to Milwaukee, he was an excellent option for the Rays last season, posting a 2.45 ERA out of the bullpen in 34 games. This year? He hasn't allowed a single earned run in 17⅓ innings, with just three hits, four walks and 17 strikeouts. His WHIP is a miniscule 0.404. It's the most innings of any pitcher in MLB who hasn't allowed a run.
Danny Jansen (Appleton West), Toronto Blue Jays. The catcher has been sidelined by an oblique strain this year (though he's been dominant when he's been available, with a 1.672 OPS and three homers in six games). He's primarily a defensive player, but he had a strong 2021 season in 205 plate appearances.
Gavin Lux (Kenosha Indian Trail), Los Angeles Dodgers. He has been a second baseman and outfielder for one of baseball's best teams, with a.250 average and .677 OPS in the first 29 games. He delivered a walk-off two-run double against former Brewers reliever Corey Knebel to lift his team to a 5-4 win over Philadelphia on Sunday.
Owen Miller (Ozaukee), Cleveland Guardians. The infielder started out the season on fire and has cooled a bit since, but he's still got a .298 batting average and .872 OPS in 108 plate appearances over 27 games. He has hits in 7 of 11 games in May.
Daulton Varsho (Marshfield), Arizona Diamondbacks. The first UW-Milwaukee alumnus to reach the big leagues is having a good year so far, serving the rare multi-positional role of center fielder and catcher. He's got a .246 batting average and .779 OPS, with six homers in 134 plate appearances.
On the 40-man
Jarred Kelenic (Waukesha West), Seattle Mariners. He rose to one of the top prospects in baseball, and the 22-year-old is a big part of Seattle's future. After a thrilling finish to his rookie season last year, when the Mariners just missed the playoffs, he came out of the gate slowly this year (.140 average/.509 OPS in 30 games) and was recently sent to Class AAA.
Ben Rortvedt (Verona), New York Yankees. The catcher made his major-league debut at 23 years old last year, with three homers and a .510 OPS over 98 plate appearances, but now he's sidelined with a knee injury suffered in rehab from a right oblique strain.
Jonathan Stiever (Cedarburg), Chicago White Sox. He briefly saw action in 2020 and 2021, though he's recovering from lat surgery in August. He's listed as the No. 17 prospect in the White Sox system by MLB.com.
Terrin Vavra (Menomonie), Baltimore Orioles. The second baseman regarded as the organization's No. 14 prospect has done well at Class AAA, with a .327 average and .858 OPS, with an on-base mark of .435, though that's only over 13 games before he went on the injured list with a hamstring issue. If healthy, he's in line to be the next Wisconsinite to make his major-league debut. He was drafted in the third round in 2018 by the Rockies but was traded in 2020 for the deal that brought Mychal Givens to Colorado.
Top prospect pipeline
Alex Binelas (Oak Creek), Boston Red Sox. Traded from the Brewers organization in the Hunter Renfroe deal, he is looking like a future big leaguer and is the No. 21 prospect in the Red Sox organization. The third baseman has a .901 OPS at Advanced Class A with seven homers in 100 at-bats.
Tanner Kolhhepp (Eau Claire Memorial), Detroit Tigers. The fifth-round pick in 2021 is the organization's No. 21 prospect, though he hasn't pitched in the minors yet. He developed into a top prospect at Notre Dame.
Alec Marsh (Milwaukee Reagan), Kansas City Royals. The No. 12 prospect in the Royals organization was the 70th overall pick in 2019. In 2022, he has a 6.26 ERA over six starts at Class AA.
Noah Miller (Ozaukee), Minnesota Twins. Owen's brother and the No. 36 overall pick in 2021, the shortstop has a .290 average and .815 OPS with a home run and a .445 on-base percentage at Class A. He's ranked No. 9 in the Twins system.
AJ Vukovich (East Troy), Arizona Diamondbacks. The outfielder who is the No. 8 prospect in the organization and a fourth-round pick in 2020 has a .742 OPS and .302 batting average at Advanced Class A.
Competing at Class AAA
Caleb Boushley (Hortonville), Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers selected him in the Triple-A portion of the Rule 5 draft, and the 28-year-old has fared decently at Nashville, with a 3-2 record and 4.28 ERA, with a 1.22 WHIP and 31 strikeouts in 33⅔ innings.
Alex Call (River Falls), Chicago White Sox. The outfielder has a .296 average and impressive .930 OPS this year, with three homers and 12 RBIs in 23 games.
Kyle Cody (McDonell Central), Texas Rangers. He made his Major League debut in 2020 but has battled injuries. He was limited to seven big-league games last year and is on the 60-day injured list after shoulder surgery. His projected return will come late in the summer.
Brian Keller (Germantown), Boston Red Sox. The former Yankees farmhand has been working his way through the minors since 2016, and he has an 0-2 record with a 6.33 ERA in seven games this season after posting a 2.77 mark in 26 games last year.
Taylor Kohlwey (Holmen), San Diego Padres. The outfielder out of UW-La Crosse has a solid .297 batting average and .822 OPS this season, with nine doubles and two homers.
Keep an eye on these guys
Jeren Kendall (Holmen), Los Angeles Dodgers. The outfielder out of Vanderbilt was the Dodgers' first-round pick (23rd overall) in 2017. He's batting .193 with a .544 OPS in 18 games at Class AA this year.
Justin Lavey (Kenosha Tremper), Seattle Mariners. The second baseman has an .852 OPS this year and .296 average at Advanced Class A, with two homers and six other extra-base hits in 19 games.
Matt Osterberg (Coleman), Philadelphia Phillies. The left-handed pitcher has a 3.18 ERA in 17 innings with a quality 1.18 WHIP at Class A (four starts).
Simon Rosenblum-Larson (Madison West), Tampa Bay Rays. He's started the season on the injured list after a 10.80 ERA in 15 innings during the 2021 season. He was very good in the minors the two years before that. The Harvard alumnus has advocated for a minor-league living wage, including with a column in the Washington Post.
Trevor Schwecke (Marshfield), Toronto Blue Jays. The former standout infielder at UW-Milwaukee has a .280 average and .950 OPS in 12 games so far at Advanced Class A.
Austin Schulfer (Stevens Point), Minnesota Twins. Another UWM alumnus, he's posting huge numbers with a 0.51 ERA in 11 games at Class AA this year, though he's already 26 years old. He's got a WHIP of 0.68 and 24 strikeouts to just three walks in 17⅔ innings, putting up a league-leading six saves.
Scott Schreiber (Kimberly), Houston Astros. The corner outfielder posted an .882 OPS last year with 17 homers over stops at Advanced Class A and Class AA, earning an invite to spring training, but he's opened the year on the 60-day injured list.
Jake Sommers (Hortonville), St. Louis Cardinals. The former UWM pitcher was part of the trade that sent Nolan Arenado to Colorado, though he had a 5.59 ERA last year in Advanced Class A. He's on the 60-day injured list after encountering elbow soreness.
Other Wisconsinites in the minors
Jack Blomgren (Janesville Craig), Colorado Rockies. The shortstop taken in the fifth round of the 2020 draft hasn't seen the field this year but did post a quality .798 OPS as a shortstop at Advanced Class A last year.
Cade Bunnell (Stoughton), Atlanta Braves. The Indiana alumnus has a .195 batting average and .658 OPS with a pair of homers over two stops this year (Advanced Class A and Class AA). The second baseman was taken in the 40th round in 2019.
Nathan Burns (West Bend West), Los Angeles Angels. The right-hander has a 5.06 ERA in six games at Advanced Class A. He did not allow a run over 16⅓ innings at three stops last year after getting drafted out of Oregon State.
Jacob DeLabio (Kenosha Tremper), Houston Astros. Though he went undefeated, he's fared well in his brief time in the minors. The Carthage alumnus has thrown only two scoreless appearances (4⅓ innings) in 2022 before landing on the injured list at Class A.
Theo Denlinger (Cuba City), Chicago White Sox. The 2021 draft pick out of Bradley has a 4.85 ERA in 11 games this year, with stops at Advanced Class A and Class AA already.
Jake Guenther (Oshkosh West), Tampa Bay Rays. The first baseman has a pair of homers and a .642 OPS (.189 batting average) in Advanced Class A this year. He was taken in the seventh round out of TCU in 2019.
Brandon Komar (Elkhorn), San Diego Padres. The alumnus of Madison College is 0-2 with a 7.25 ERA in nine games at Advanced Class A.
Adam Lukas (Grafton), Kansas City Royals. He had a 3.38 ERA in six games last year at Advanced Class A but has opened the 2022 season on the injured list.
Dalton Roach (Eau Claire Memorial), St. Louis Cardinals. He's got a 5.26 ERA in seven starts at Class AA this year. His WHIP (1.25) has been solid.
Trevor Tietz (Watertown), Milwaukee Brewers. In his second year with the organization, he has an 8.78 ERA in 13 games at Advanced Class A, but he does have 16 strikeouts in 13⅓ innings.
Ty Weber (Menomonee Falls), San Francisco Giants. The former Illinois right-hander has a 1-1 record with a 4.19 ERA in Advanced Class A over six games this year.
Did we miss anyone? JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe. | 2022-05-17T18:36:30Z | www.jsonline.com | Wisconsin players in Major League Baseball and the minors in 2022 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/05/17/wisconsin-players-major-league-baseball-and-minors-2022/9805759002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/05/17/wisconsin-players-major-league-baseball-and-minors-2022/9805759002/ |
A day after being pilloried by Republicans, incoming University of Wisconsin-Madison chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said she couldn’t be more excited for the “opportunity of a lifetime” and looks forward to working with the GOP-led Legislature.
In Mnookin's first public remarks since being named the next UW-Madison chancellor on Monday, she tried presenting herself as ready for the rough-and-tumble of Republican-dominated politics, which she hasn't faced in her seven years leading the law school at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Mnookin told reporters Tuesday that she is excited to meet people, both on campus and in the Capitol, over beer or cheese curds and work to find common ground about how to move Wisconsin forward.
Some Republicans, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, of Rochester, have painted Mnookin as a leftist “woke radical” who has donated to Democratic politicians and supports critical race theory.
Mnookin said she'd love to talk about the “different definitions and swirling ideas" surrounding critical race theory, a complex academic framework to understand system racism that is typically taught in law schools.
"There are a lot of different perspectives on it and it’s become something that when people engage, I’m not even sure they’re talking about the same thing," she said, noting a distinction between the critical race theory taught by legal scholars and broader public discussions about how race and its role in American history should be taught to K-12 classrooms.
"I think free speech is incredibly important and we need to create spaces for all different kinds to be part of the dialogue within universities," she said. "I think those ideas do include, they include critical race theory, sure, and lots of other ideas, too, and part of how we move forward is through those conversations and dialogues."
Some Republicans have urged the UW Board of Regents to reconsider hiring Mnookin. Longtime UW critic State Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, has linked moving forward with her hire to funding cuts for UW in the next budget.
The potential funding threat doesn't weigh too heavily on Regent Vice President Karen Walsh, who spearheaded the search committee that selected Mnookin over four other finalists.
"It’s a free country and people can say what they want and honestly I don't take those comments very seriously," Walsh said. "I would like for those folks to meet Chancellor Mnookin before they threaten our funding. I don’t think they really intend to do that. I think they're much more interested in sitting in a room with us and talking about our differences."
The Regents' Monday vote to hire Mnookin was unanimous, supported by board members appointed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and by former Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
Other high-profile hires the board has recently made include former four-term Republican governor Tommy Thompson, who led the UW System from mid-2020 through March, and Milwaukee attorney Jay Rothman, who has given more than $77,000 in campaign donations to primarily Republican state office candidates and is taking over as UW System president next month.
"We hire based on leadership qualities," Walsh said. "We don’t have a political litmus test."
Another concern for Republicans stemmed from an article published in the conservative Daily Caller that reported Hunter Biden, son of Democratic President Joe Biden, tried teaching a course on drug policy at UCLA’s law school. Biden emailed Mnookin in 2019 about the possibility and may have even met with her in person, but emails showed school staff “were slow to embrace Hunter’s proposal,” according to the report.
UW System spokesperson Mark Pitsch said Biden made an inquiry, Mnookin handled the matter appropriately and he never taught at UCLA.
The statewide chapter of the American Association of University Professors dismissed Republicans' objections as being "grounded in corrosive right-wing conspiracy theories" and condemned lawmakers' calls to rethink the appointment.
“These threats are beyond the pale,” the group said in a Tuesday statement. “They constitute unacceptable political interference in the administration of the UW System, of a sort that has led to severe problems in the state university systems of Georgia and North Carolina, among others. They are deeply inappropriate, and an embarrassment to the entire state. We call on these elected officials and candidates to retract their statements and apologize.”
The group noted that Republican pressure on the Regents comes at a time in which half of the board’s members, all Evers appointees, have not been confirmed by the Republican-controlled state Senate, leaving open the possibility that they will be replaced if a Republican wins the governor’s race this fall. | 2022-05-17T22:20:04Z | www.jsonline.com | New UW-Madison chancellor Mnookin seeks common ground with Republicans | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2022/05/17/new-uw-madison-chancellor-mnookin-seeks-common-ground-republicans/9808504002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2022/05/17/new-uw-madison-chancellor-mnookin-seeks-common-ground-republicans/9808504002/ |
This week, multimillionaire Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alex Lasry asked for a 90-day extension on filing his statement of economic interests.
What does it mean? Voters likely won't have access to the most recent range of Lasry's wealth until after the Aug. 9 Democratic primary.
Under the extension, Lasry's numbers won't be due until Aug. 15.
"We are waiting for additional required information in order to complete the financial disclosure form," said Thad Nation, a spokesman for the Lasry campaign. "We took the allowed extension and will file as soon as we are able."
According to his previous U.S. Senate filing, Lasry and his wife listed assets ranging from $100 million to $273.1 million at the end of 2020. This included holdings worth at least between $60.9 million to $80.7 million that he owns outright.
Lasry's wealth could be much higher because it includes at least $50 million in Milwaukee Bucks stock. Lasry is on leave from his job as an executive vice president for the Bucks, whose ownership group includes his father, Marc Lasry.
The disclosures from the other candidates yielded some interesting nuggets.
Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and his wife listed assets worth between $16.55 million and $78.3 million at the end of last year, about the same as the previous year. Johnson wasn't required to list his $174,000 Senate salary.
Among the Democrats, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and her husband, Max Duckworth, listed assets between a range of $26.8 million and $62 million. That was a slight increase from the previous year's filing, when the couple had assets between $23.9 million and $60 million. She listed her salary as state treasurer as $82,461.
Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes listed his salary at $108,613 and had assets between $5,000 and $75,000.
Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson listed a $110,000 salary. He and his wife had assets ranging between $192,000 and a little over $1 million plus a joint Wisconsin Retirement System pension plan worth between $250,000 and $500,000. His campaign said Nelson's total assets are under $500,000.
More:Marquette poll shows Mandela Barnes, Alex Lasry in tight Democratic U.S. Senate race in Wisconsin
More:Senate election updates: Sheldon Lubar endorses Steven Olikara | 2022-05-17T22:20:22Z | www.jsonline.com | Alex Lasry files extension on economic interests until after primary | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/05/17/alex-lasry-files-extension-statement-economic-interests-until-after-democratic-primary/9800924002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/05/17/alex-lasry-files-extension-statement-economic-interests-until-after-democratic-primary/9800924002/ |
Greg Elliott transfers to Pittsburgh for his final season after five years at Marquette
Greg Elliott will finish his college basketball career at Pittsburgh.
The 6-foot-3 guard, who spent five seasons at Marquette, announced Tuesday that he will play his extra season of NCAA eligibility for the Panthers.
Former MU assistant coach Jake Presutti is the assistant athletic director of scouting for Pittsburgh.
Elliott entered the NCAA transfer portal in April after averaging 5.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in his four seasons at MU. He was beset by thumb and ankle injuries during his time with the Golden Eagles and redshirted the 2018-19 season.
More: Greg Elliott has seen everything in college basketball
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Elliott became a key role player in his final two seasons, shooting 45.5% on three-pointers in 2020-21 and 38.6% in 2021-22. He stuck around after head coach Steve Wojciechowski was fired to play for new head coach Shaka Smart last season. | 2022-05-17T22:20:28Z | www.jsonline.com | Marquette's Greg Elliott transferring to Pittsburgh for final season | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/marquette/2022/05/17/marquettes-greg-elliott-transferring-pittsburgh-final-season/9813369002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/marquette/2022/05/17/marquettes-greg-elliott-transferring-pittsburgh-final-season/9813369002/ |
MADISON - Steve Stricker sat on a stool Tuesday with a crisp, white American Family Insurance hat perched on his head, sporting a rich tan and a major championship glow after winning the PGA Tour Champions' Regions Tradition over the weekend in Alabama.
The 55-year-old Edgerton native was ready to talk about hosting and playing in the American Family Insurance Championship June 10-12 at University Ridge Golf Course. But there were few questions about the popular senior circuit event, which will be back to full capacity after some COVID restrictions last year. There were no queries about the celebrity pro-am, which will feature Brett Favre and Andy North against Derek Jeter and women's golf legend Juli Inkster.
Most of the questions fielded by Stricker concerned the dramatic year that the Wisconsin golf legend endured. In September, Stricker reached the zenith of a remarkable career by captaining the United States' Ryder Cup team to a victory at Whistling Straits in his home state. But then there were mysterious heart and liver issues that flared up in November and left him hospitalized. He returned to PGA Tour Champions competition three weeks ago and rolled to his fifth senior major title at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama.
Stricker answered everything with forthrightness, but he was ready for what's next.
"Yeah, it's been a little bit of an up-and-down road," he said. "But I feel really good where I'm at right now. The Ryder Cup was one thing, it was something very special to me and my family and my career and our team and the state of Wisconsin. All that put together.
"Then a month later that wasn't so good. But I'm kind of focusing now on moving forward. It was kind of the same message that I gave to the Ryder Cup team. It was, like, we can think about how we got our butts kicked these last few Ryder Cups but let's not. Let's think about moving forward, thinking about what we need to do to come out and win and and play good golf."
After losing almost 30 pounds during his scare, Stricker still looks skinnier than he did during his golfing prime, which included 12 victories on the PGA Tour. But he's glad to be back on the course.
"I'm still getting some blood work done on a monthly basis," Stricker said. "Just leading up to a July MRI still. They just want to make sure, the cardiologist.
"Really the whole scare came from my heart, myocarditis and inflammation of the heart, and that was what took so long. The liver issues I got past. That continually got better. But this inflammation of the heart just lasted for such a long time. We have to be careful with that because it can come back and that was the last thing I really wanted is for it to come back. And I was on a lot of medications for it to be thwarted and kept at a reasonable level.
"So that's why I couldn't work out, really. Eating was a challenge, that's why I lost all this weight. So leading up to the July MRI, the last one I had was in April and I was all clear. So they just want to do one more check, since I've been playing, to make sure nothing was going on. I'm wearing this WHOOP thing (electronic monitor), just to make sure that everything is good there. Like I said, everything's been great. Off of all medications. I feel great."
Stricker also feels incredibly thankful, especially after proving with his wire-to-wire victory at the Regions Tradition that he could still play at an elite level.
"This last one probably means more than the Ryder Cup at this point," Stricker said. "Just from where I was in November and December. January I was hitting it 220 (yards) in the air.
"So there was a lot of things that I had to get better (at) before I could get to the point of just what happened on Sunday. It was a long, long journey. But one that I wouldn't trade because I got to spend an incredible amount of time with (wife) Nicki and the kids and I was all in with them."
Even while focusing on his health, Stricker stayed involved with his duties as host for the American Family Insurance Championship, which will be held for the sixth time.
"When you look at the foundation work that we do for the charitable giving, and our charitable grants and scholarship winners we offer," tournament director Nate Pokrass said, "Steve and Nicki are highly engaged in that process and have always been a phone call away. Even as he was working through his time, he was accessible."
The event has also grown in popularity in the area thanks to Madison native Jerry Kelly, who has won the last two titles at University Ridge. Kelly beat out Stricker and Retief Goosen in a playoff in the 2019 tournament.
Now that Stricker is feeling better, he wants to get the best of his old friend Kelly, against whom he has played since junior golf.
"It gains a lot of traction in our community," Stricker said. "When you have a guy like Jerry, who lives in the community, who is embedded in this community, is very much a part of all this.
"It's great to have him win. Even though it grinds on me that he won. I'm going to be quite honest, we want to beat up on each other until we're partners. And we've been partners in competition before. But when we're playing separately, we want to beat each." | 2022-05-17T22:20:34Z | www.jsonline.com | Steve Stricker hosting American Family Insurance Championship again | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/golf/2022/05/17/steve-stricker-hosting-american-family-insurance-championship-again/9800869002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/golf/2022/05/17/steve-stricker-hosting-american-family-insurance-championship-again/9800869002/ |
Packers first-round pick Quay Walker to be speaker at Milwaukee High School Sports Awards
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is proud to announce Green Bay Packers first-round draft pick Quay Walker as the special guest speaker at the 2022 Milwaukee High School Sports Awards show to be held at 7:30 p.m. May 25 at the Pabst Theater. The show is produced with support from Festival Foods.
More than 300 high school athletes from the Milwaukee area will be honored. The show also will name players of the year for more than 20 sports and include several major awards, including overall players of the year, teams of the year, coaches of the year and a Courage Award.
Walker was a starting linebacker for the national champion Georgia Bulldogs last season. He had 67 tackles, including eight in the Bulldogs’ title-game victory over Alabama. Known as a ballhawk who is particularly effective against the run, Walker brings an intense toughness to the middle of the Green Bay defense. Walker grew up in Georgia and went to Crisp County High School. He was the 22nd pick in the draft.
“I’m excited to help celebrate the state’s top young student athletes and host the High School Sports Awards,” said Walker. “I know how hard these athletes had to work to get to where they are today, and I’m happy to be a part of this special evening.”
See more about the program and which athletes already have been named nominees on the show's website. Nominated athletes must register for the event on the website. Each nominated athlete will receive one free ticket for their admittance to the show. Other tickets may be purchased on the website.
The Milwaukee High School Sports Awards is part of the USA Today High School Sports Awards program, the largest high school sports recognition program in the country. | 2022-05-17T22:20:40Z | www.jsonline.com | Quay Walker to be speaker at Milwaukee High School Sports Awards | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/high-school/sports-awards/2022/05/17/quay-walker-speaker-milwaukee-high-school-sports-awards/9804994002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/high-school/sports-awards/2022/05/17/quay-walker-speaker-milwaukee-high-school-sports-awards/9804994002/ |
For the second time this season, a Milwaukee Brewers player has been suspended 80 games following a positive test for a performance enhancing substance.
Brewers relief pitcher J.C. Mejía is suspended 80 games after testing positive for Stanozolol, Major League Baseball announced Tuesday.
Stanozolol, also known by its brand name Winstrol, is a synthetic steroid derived from testosterone that is most commonly used in the treatment of hereditary angioedema, which causes episodes of swelling.
The Brewers traded with Cleveland for Mejía, 25, in November in exchange for a player to be named. In 2⅓ innings since being recalled from Class AAA Nashville on May 10, Mejía allowed six runs.
Milwaukee was hit with another 80-game suspension in April when, days before the beginning of the regular season, catcher Pedro Severino was suspended for testing positive for clomiphene.
From a roster standpoint, the Brewers are in far less of a jam following Mejía’s suspension than with Severino’s. Left without a backup catcher and with the season beginning imminently, Milwaukee had to scramble to find a replacement for Severino, which it did by trading with San Diego for Victor Caratini.
Trevor Kelley was called up from Nashville and added to the 40-man roster in a corresponding move. The right-hander allowed one earned run in 13 innings with the Sounds and has appeared in 14 career big-league games.
Contact Curt Hogg at chogg@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @CyrtHogg. | 2022-05-17T22:20:46Z | www.jsonline.com | Brewers pitcher J.C. Mejía suspended 80 games for positive PED test | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/05/17/brewers-pitcher-j-c-mejia-suspended-80-games-positive-ped-test/9808711002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/05/17/brewers-pitcher-j-c-mejia-suspended-80-games-positive-ped-test/9808711002/ |
In his first TV ads, U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes focuses on milk, beef and millionaires
Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes is trying to stand out in a field of millionaires as he runs for U.S. Senate.
So, in his first TV ad that launches Wednesday, Barnes talks about the price of groceries.
"Most Senators couldn’t tell you the cost of a gallon of milk. Or how much beef has gone up this year," Barnes says in the ad as he pushes a cart through a grocery store. "But I’m not like most Senators, or any of the other millionaires running for Senate."
Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson is a multi-millionaire, as are Barnes' Democratic rivals, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry.
"My mom was a teacher, my dad worked third shift," Barnes says in the 30-second ad. "I know how hard you’re working, and I know that by bringing manufacturing home, we create jobs and we lower costs. If we want to change Washington, we’ve got to change the people we send there."
The Barnes campaign said this was the first spot in a multi-million dollar advertising campaign beginning in Milwaukee on broadcast, cable and digital and expanding throughout the state ahead of the Aug. 9 Democratic primary.
The ad campaign comes with polling showing a tightening race as Democratic rivals rolled out their ad campaigns earlier
More:For months, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes was the presumed front-runner in the Democratic U.S. Senate race. Now, it's a tight battle.
Lasry began advertising last fall, while Godlewski released her first ad in March. Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson ran a spot during a Milwaukee Bucks game.
Johnson began advertising in January as he announced he was running for a third term.
Outside groups have also poured millions of dollars into the race. | 2022-05-18T11:05:33Z | www.jsonline.com | Mandela Barnes ad focuses on milk, beef and millionaires | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/05/18/mandela-barnes-ad-focuses-milk-beef-and-millionaires/9812296002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/05/18/mandela-barnes-ad-focuses-milk-beef-and-millionaires/9812296002/ |
'It's going to have all that history:' Home restoration business moves into the former Hayek's Pharmacy in Shorewood
Since closing its doors after 100 years in business, the former Hayek's Pharmacy in Shorewood has been vacant for more than four years — but that's about to change.
Home Again, a reupholstering and furniture restoration business, is moving into the space and hopes to open sometime in June, said owner Kristina Bruggeman.
"Nothing I do is pretty or shiny; it all starts out pretty rough around the edges. To have a space that's been around for a long time and is not going to be perfectly new inside, it's going to have all that history. It really fits in line with what I do," she said.
Customers will be able to have their furniture reupholstered, refinished, painted and repaired at the shop. The shop also makes custom decorative pillows and other fabric projects, said Bruggeman.
The decision to open at the Shorewood location at 4001 N. Downer Ave. came after her business outgrew her workshop building in Grafton, which she will still continue to operate after opening the Shorewood location.
She started Home Again about seven years ago almost by accident after leaving her teaching career to stay home with her children.
"It literally started by someone looking for a piece of furniture, and I told her that I have that in my basement and she bought it. That was great," Bruggeman said. "It kind of just spread throughout the North Shore."
After signing a lease in December, she's been remodeling the space for the past several months. She's renting the space from investor Elan Peltz, who purchased the pharmacy after it closed in 2018.
RELATED:Hayek's Pharmacy closes after 100 years in Shorewood
"A lot of the neighbors are glad to see something going in there because it's been vacant for so long," she said. So far, Bruggeman said, she's received positive feedback from the community about moving into the space.
" My understanding was they were looking for just the right tenant, and Home Again was exactly that. The Business Improvement District is so excited to have Home Again and Kristina join Shorewood," wrote BID executive director Janet Henning.
For more information, visit www.homeagainmilwaukee.com or call 414-436-4675. | 2022-05-18T14:34:59Z | www.jsonline.com | Home Again moves into the old Hayek's Pharmacy in Shorewood | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/2022/05/18/home-again-moves-into-old-hayeks-pharmacy-shorewood/9715608002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/2022/05/18/home-again-moves-into-old-hayeks-pharmacy-shorewood/9715608002/ |
Summertime — and to tweak a line from DuBose Heyward's famous lyric — the readin' is easy.
If you'd like to rise up singing during the sunny season, here is a varied selection of 45 new books to choose from, with a hefty helping of Wisconsin writers, and including a subset of choices for children and teens. In each case, I've either read the book already or browsed it, or been impressed by a previous work from the same author, or had the new book recommended by a trusted source of information.
Thanks to my colleague Chris Foran for contributing some pop-culture and baseball selections.
Speaking of summer reading, the Milwaukee Public Library encourages children to join its Super Reader Squad for children 12 and younger, and its Teen Summer Challenge program for youth ages 13 through 18. Check the library's website, mpl.org, for summer reading program details in the near future.
If you live in a different community, check with your local library. It probably has a summer reading program, too.
"All the Queen's Men" (William Morrow), by S.J. Bennett. In unraveling the strange disappearance of a favorite artwork, Queen Elizabeth II and her assistant private secretary, a former Army officer, discover and solve more serious crimes in this amiable mystery novel.
"Blue Lake" (River Grove Books), by Jeffrey D. Boldt. In this Madison writer's debut, an administrative law judge and a reporter passionate about each other and the environment face dangerous criminals and despoilers in a novel rich with Wisconsin settings.
MORE:45 new books for holiday gifts in 2021, from a Giannis biography to murder mysteries
MORE:21 recommended books by Wisconsin writers from the 21st century
“Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema and the Invention of the Twentieth Century” (Atria Books), by Dana Stevens. Stevens, Slate’s film critic, crafts a smart, fun biography of the comedy genius that puts him in the context of his time while showing he was ahead of his time. (Prolific film biographer James Curtis also has a new book on Keaton worth looking for: “Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker’s Life.”)
"The Cartographers" (William Morrow), by Peng Shepherd. A brilliant young mapmaker, looking into her estranged father's unexpected death, uncovers a mystery with reality-shaking consequences. A new novel from the author of "The Book of M."
"Catholica: The Visual Culture of Catholicism" (Thames & Hudson), by Suzanna Ivanič. A profusely illustrated tour of Catholic visual iconography from the fourth century until the present, including Marian imagery, cathedral facades, reliquaries and sacramental representations.
"Chili Dog MVP: Dick Allen, the '72 White Sox and a Transforming Chicago" (Eckhartz Press), by John Owens and David J. Fletcher. This book lovingly re-creates the story of the 1972 Chicago White Sox, an unlikely band of players led by misunderstood superstar Dick Allen.
"Danger on the Atlantic" (Kensington), by Erica Ruth Neubauer. In Milwaukee novelist Neubauer's third 1920s mystery, Jane Wunderly and her man Redvers try to solve a disappearance and a murder on ship during a transatlantic crossing.
"Deaf Utopia: A Memoir and a Love Letter to a Way of Life" (William Morrow), by Nyle DiMarco with Robert Siebert. Model and activist DiMarco shares his story of growing up deaf and winning on "America’s Next Top Model" and "Dancing With the Stars"
"A Dog Lover's Guide to Hiking Wisconsin's State Parks" (University of Wisconsin Press), by Danielle St. Louis. One dog owner's detailed note and tips about rambling around state parks with your pooch, from Amnicon Falls to Whitefish Dunes.
"The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER" (One World), by Thomas Fisher. In this memoir, a Black doctor chronicles a hectic and dangerous year of emergency room work that included treating victims of COVID-19 and gunshot violence.
"The Evening Hero" (Simon & Schuster), by Marie Myung-Ok Lee. A Korean doctor in small-town Minnesota copes with his unexpected retirement while also processing memories and secrets from his past. Lee's novel also delivers some pointed satire about American corporate health care.
“Everybody Thought We Were Crazy: Dennis Hopper, Brooke Hayward and 1960s Los Angeles” (Ecco), by Mark Rozzo. Hopper, the movies’ enfant terrible, and Hayward, the taste-making daughter of showbiz royalty, made for one of Hollywood’s more unlikely yet influential power couples during the 1960s. Armed with Hayward’s never-before-published memoirs and scores of in-depth interviews, Rozzo paints a fascinating if dark portrait not just of Hopper and Hayward but the culture they helped reshape.
"The Family Chao: A Novel" (W.W. Norton), by Lan Samantha Chang. In a Wisconsin burg much like Appleton, the grown children of the imperious owner of the local Chinese restaurant come to grips with his murder and the prejudice of their community.
“Finding Me: A Memoir” (HarperOne), by Viola Davis. The Oscar-winning actor tells her origin story, and how she got to be one of the most-honored actors of our time, in this raw, no-punches-pulled memoir, from battling racism growing up in Rhode Island to battling racism in Hollywood.
“From Hollywood With Love: The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again) of the Romantic Comedy” (Dey St.), by Scott Meslow. Meslow tells the backstories of 16 influential rom-coms, from “When Harry Met Sally… ” to “Waiting to Exhale” to “Crazy Rich Asians,” with detours to some of the key players in the genre.
"The Geography of Wisconsin" (UW Press), by John A. Cross and Kazimierz J. Zaniewski. An engaging introduction to the physical and climatic features of this state, as well as its settlement and economic patterns, with nearly 250 photographs and maps.
"The Grief of Stones" (Tor, out June 14), by Katherine Addison. In this sequel to the Madison novelist's gripping fantasy "The Witness for the Dead," a priest-detective who can sense thoughts of the recently deceased investigates more mysterious deaths and faces a shattering crisis.
"Last Summer on State Street" (William Morrow, out June 14), by Toya Wolfe. In Wolfe's debut novel, girls living in Chicago's Robert Taylor Homes circa 1999 experience the challenges of growing up in atmosphere of racism and violence.
"Magic Season: A Son's Story" (Hanover Square Press), by Wade Rouse. Novelist Rouse turns to memoir in his story of a gay son and his disapproving, dying father, who finally connect over a summer of following the fortunes of their favorite baseball team together.
“The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act” (Bloomsbury), by Isaac Butler. Butler charts the revolution in “real” acting, inspired by Russian teachings in the late 19th century, that came to dominate American stages and screens from the 1930s through the 1980s.
"The Partition" (Akashic Books), by Don Lee. In these short stories, "Don Lee writes about Asian American experiences with such individuality, depth, and razor-sharply defined details as to dash away any notion of a monolithic 'they,' ” Boswell Books staff member Chris Lee declares.
“The Real Hank Aaron: An Intimate Look at the Life and Legacy of the Home Run King” (Triumph Books), by Terence Moore. Moore, a longtime sports columnist with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, developed such a close relationship with the baseball legend that he dubs himself “the Hank Aaron Whisperer,” the only journalist the home run king would talk to. Moore draws from decades of interviews with Aaron for this portrait, revealing Aaron’s strong, unvarnished takes on baseball, race and his time in Milwaukee as both a Brave and a Brewer — much of it never published before.
"Recitatif" (Knopf), by Toni Morrison. For a high impact short read, turn to this gift edition of Morrison's only short story, with an introduction by Zadie Smith. Two girls who meet in an orphanage encounter each other several more times throughout their lives. Their racial difference is important in their lives, but Morrison never reveals which one is white and which Black.
"Sea of Tranquility" (Knopf), by Emily St. John Mandel. In an elegant new novel from the author of "Station Eleven," widely different people across several centuries have a similar, disconcerting experience, suggesting that something may be wrong with the fabric of time.
"Search" (Penguin Press), by Michelle Huneven. A Unitarian Universalist congregational committee spends a year looking for a new minister. If you've ever sat on a hiring committee, you know what can go wrong. Huneven's comic novel also includes recipes!
"Shelter: A Black Tale of Homeland, Baltimore" (Graywolf), by Lawrence Jackson. In this acclaimed memoir, a scholar who has returned to his hometown probes the history of Black Baltimore and describes his adventures in homeownership.
"Siren Queen" (Tordotcom), by Nghi Vo. A rising star in speculative fiction who lives in Milwaukee, Vo mixes magic and the Hollywood studio system in this tale about a woman who plays monsters in the movies.
"Standing Up: Tales of Struggle" (Hard Ball Press), by Ellen Bravo and Larry Miller. Fiction by veteran labor leaders about essential workers and blue collar folks, with Milwaukee frequently the setting.
"Stumbling Around the Bases: The American League in the Expansion Era" (University of Nebraska Press), by Andy McCue. In one of the best books written about the business of baseball, McCue shows how American League owners dropped the ball from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s, including the debacle that led to Milwaukee getting the Brewers.
"This Time Tomorrow" (Riverhead), by Emma Straub. In Straub's time-travel novel, Alice bounces between her 16-year-old and 40-year-old selves, wreaking comic timeline havoc as she copes with romance and a famous father. Oh, 1990s references abound. (Straub will speak in conversation with Noah Weckwerth 7 p.m. May 26 at the Elm Grove Women’s Club, 13885 Watertown Plank Road, Elm Grove. Tickets, at $28, include a copy of the book.)
"Though the Earth Gives Way" (Bancroft Press), by Mark S. Johnson. Pulitzer Prize-winning Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter's debut novel imagines disparate humans trying to start over again after extreme weather events and climate change have wrecked our world.
"Two Wheels Good: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle" (Crown), by Jody Rosen. From the development of rubber tires through the COVID-19 boom in cycling, Rosen takes readers on a fascinating ride.
"Verissmus: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius" (St. Martin's Press, out June 14), by Donald J. Robertson, illustrated by Zé Nuno Fraga. A graphic-novel biography of the Roman emperor-philosopher, which relates how he adopted stoicism to manage his anger and other unruly emotions.
"Wash Day Diaries" (Chronicle, out July 5), written by Jamila Rowser and illustrated by Robyn Smith. Young Black women bond together in a Bronx salon and through their hair rituals in this graphic novel.
"When I'm Gone, Look for Me in the East" (Pantheon), by Quan Barry. In the Madison writer's new novel, twin brothers who don't get along, but have a psychic bond, travel across Mongolia seeking the new incarnation of a great lama.
"Winter Stars: An Elderly Mother, an Aging Son, and Life’s Final Journey" (Light Messages), by Dave Iverson. Former Wisconsin Public Television journalist Iverson writes about his in-home care of his mother during her last decade of life, while coping with his own Parkinson's disease.
"Caring All Around Me" (Orange Hat), written and illustrated by Tia Richardson. A girl named Mara explores her neighborhood on foot. Hearing birds and looking at butterflies and flowers, she realizes she can choose to take in positive messages. Milwaukee artist Richardson illustrates this tale with imagery similar to her familiar community murals around the city.
"Does a Bulldozer Have a Butt?" (Chronicle), written by Derick Wilder, illustrated by K-Fai Steele. The title alone sells this picture book, especially to parents of children who like to ask questions. For readers 3 to 5 years old.
"The Legend of Gravity: A Tall Basketball Tale" (FSG), written and illustrated by Charly Palmer. A loving tribute to streetball, set in Milwaukee by an artist who grew up here. For readers 4 to 8 years old.
"Listen: How Evelyn Glennie, a Deaf Girl, Changed Percussion" (Puffin), by Shannon Stocker, illustrated by Devon Holzwarth. In spite of her childhood hearing loss, Glennie became a world-famous percussionist, feeling vibrations with her body (which is why she performed barefoot). For readers 4 to 8 years old.
"The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza" (Katherine Tegen / HarperCollins), written by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Shawn Harris. Can the First Cat and a toenail-clipping robot keep rats from chewing up the Moon? For readers 8 to 11 years old.
"Miss Quinces" (Graphix), written and illustrated by Kat Fajardo. Fifteen-year-old Suyapa would rather read and wear black than pink, but nonetheless, her family is headed to Honduras for her quinceañera. Available in both English and Spanish versions. For readers 8 to 12 years old.
"And We Rise: The Civil Rights Movement in Poems" (Viking), by Erica Martin. Short, powerful poems tell the story from Brown vs. Board of Education to the present. For readers 12 to 17 years old.
"Reclaim the Stars: 17 Tales Across Realms & Space" (Wednesday Books), edited by Zoraida Córdova. Science fiction and fantasy stories starring Latinx characters; writers include Daniel José Older and Lilliam Rivera. For readers 12 to 18 years old.
"Love Radio" (Simon & Schuster, out May 31), by Ebony LaDelle. In this novel with strong musical elements, a Black teen DJ and his crush, who have both experienced some real-world suffering, give romance a chance. For readers 14 to 18 years old. | 2022-05-18T14:35:17Z | www.jsonline.com | 45 new books for summer reading in 2022 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/books/2022/05/18/45-new-books-summer-reading-2022-milwaukee/6946299001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/books/2022/05/18/45-new-books-summer-reading-2022-milwaukee/6946299001/ |
4 things to do in Milwaukee this weekend, including Grilled Cheese Food Truck Fest
1. Grilled Cheese Food Truck Fest
What's better than a grilled cheese sandwich? How about grilled cheese sandwiches from a half-dozen food trucks? That's what'll be at the Grilled Cheese Food Truck Fest, from noon to 7 p.m. May 22 downtown in the Tap Yard at Schlitz Park, 1555 N. Rivercenter Drive. Info: Grilled Cheese Food Truck Fest Facebook page.
RELATED:What’s the big deal with food trucks? Try out one of these food truck events and find out.
2. 414Flea market
The May 414Flea market is bringing together 70 vintage and goods sellers to the Ivy House, 906 S. Barclay Ave., from noon to 5 p.m. May 22. Admission is free (if you want to get in early, early-bird admission at 11 a.m. is $15). Info: 414flea.com.
RELATED:This 20-year-old thrift enthusiast started 414Flea, a Milwaukee market hosting 70 vendors
3. Armed Forces Day celebration at Harley-Davidson Museum
The grounds of Harley-Davidson Museum, 400 W. Canal St., are home to a string of events on May 21 to mark Armed Forces Day, including a display of military equipment and more from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and the Wisconsin Warrior Challenge, a group of team-based competitive events for those ages 13 to 22, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission is free. Info: milwaukeearmedforcesweek.com.
4. Bubble Run at Wisconsin State Fair Park
This is not your serious-runners-only 5K. The traveling Bubble Run has a course that sends you running, walking, dancing or whatever mode you choose through — you guessed it — colored foam bubbles. The Bubble Run takes over the Milwaukee Mile track at Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis at 8 a.m. May 21. The entry fee is $15 through May 18, $40 on the day of the race. Info: bubblerun.com. | 2022-05-18T14:35:23Z | www.jsonline.com | 4 things to do in Milwaukee this weekend | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/events/2022/05/18/4-things-do-milwaukee-weekend/9744449002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/events/2022/05/18/4-things-do-milwaukee-weekend/9744449002/ |
MADISON - Eliminating air pollution from energy-related activities in the U.S. could prevent more than 53,000 premature deaths each year, according to a newly published study from University of Wisconsin researchers.
The study, which was published Monday in the journal GeoHealth, also showed that preventing those deaths would also provide $608 million in benefits from the avoided illnesses and deaths.
Researchers used data from the Environmental Protection Agency to model health benefits of eliminating fine particulate matter, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides released into the air by energy generation, transportation, buildings and industry.
The types of pollution looked at in the study have been associated with premature death from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lower respiratory infections, tracheal bronchus and lung cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
More: UW study finds Wisconsin rivers contributing to 'forever chemical' concentrations in bay of Green Bay, Lake Michigan
More:'Polluted' babies, millions dead: Scientists sound alarm on global pollution
Nicholas Mailloux, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and lead author of the study, said the reasoning behind launching the research was to show that actions the U.S. needs to take to decarbonize its energy systems to reduce greenhouse gases could largely benefit public health.
He said that if the U.S. were to start taking action today, the reduction in air pollution would be seen rather quickly, even if the full climate benefits take much longer.
"That's a near-term incentive to take action on climate change," Mailloux said.
While switching over to emission free energy, such as solar and wind power, would make a difference in the amount of pollution in the air, the transportation industry remains one of the largest emitters.
"Nationwide, removing emissions from on-road vehicles would save 11,700 lives each year," he said. "And that's the highest of any other sector.
In addition to nationwide impacts, the study also explored impacts in the different regions of the U.S.
Researchers found that the Midwest would likely see the largest impact after eliminating air pollution, with 11,100 premature deaths avoided each year.
Midwestern states from Minnesota to Ohio are downwind from much of the rest of the country, so air pollution flows into the area from elsewhere, Mailloux said. There is also the large population center of Chicago, where more people are exposed to pollution and could potentially benefit from the reductions in emissions.
More:Climate change issues are motivating young Wisconsinites to get involved in elections
"Another consideration there is the fact that there is still a lot of coal-fired electricity power generation in the Ohio River Valley," he said. "And those benefits (of elimination) would flow over state lines to other places in the Midwest."
Wisconsin in particular would also see significant benefits: more than 400 deaths could be avoided each year.
But those benefits don't come from action by the state alone.
"If Wisconsin were to act alone, they get a certain amount of benefit," Mailloux said. "But, if they act in concert with with partners in the region or as part of a nationwide effort, you get more benefit. So there are incentives to cooperation. | 2022-05-18T14:35:41Z | www.jsonline.com | UW study finds eliminating air pollution could save 53,000 U.S. lives | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2022/05/18/uw-madison-study-finds-eliminating-air-pollution-could-save-53-000-u-s-lives/9809330002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2022/05/18/uw-madison-study-finds-eliminating-air-pollution-could-save-53-000-u-s-lives/9809330002/ |
Frank Aukofer
WASHINGTON, D.C. – It’s a one-sentence provision in the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill that cleared Congress and became public law last March:
“Hereafter, the Hearing Room of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives (room 2358-C of the Rayburn House Office Building) shall be known and designated as the “David R. Obey Room.”
The rare accolade from his colleagues honors Democrat Obey for his 42 years of service in Congress representing the 7th District in northwestern Wisconsin, and specifically for his service on the House Appropriations Committee, where he served twice as the chairman.
He was elected, as he puts it, “on April Fool’s Day” in 1969 to replace Republican Melvin R. Laird, who was named secretary of defense by President Richard M. Nixon.
Obey, 83, who retired in 2011, was feted by colleagues, former staff members and friends at a Rayburn reception Tuesday.
At the reception, four former leaders of the Appropriations Committee — two Republicans and two Democrats — issued a statement of congratulations for Obey, commending him for his past leadership of the committee and the Labor/HHS subcommittee.
“Chairman Obey was a masterful chair of both the full committee and this important subcommittee,” they wrote, “learning each program’s details and how they affect everyday Americans’ lives.
“He used his powerful voice to champion issue after issue and to expand much needed access in underserved areas. From rural health facilities to Pell Grants, Chairman Obey always understood this particular bill — the “people’s bill” — touches lives more directly than any other.
It was signed by two former Republican chairs: Robert Livingston of Louisiana and Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey, as well as two Democratic leaders: former chair Nita Lowey of New York and former ranking member Norm Dicks of Washington state.
More than 100 colleagues, former staffers and friends attended the reception, including Obey’s wife, Joan, and his two sons, Douglas and Craig.
Also attending were current and former members of Congress from Wisconsin, including Democrats Mark Pocan of the Madison area, Ron Kind of La Crosse and Gwen Moore of Milwaukee, as well as retired Republican Rep. Thomas Petri of Fond du Lac.
There was much praise for Obey’s dedication and skills, as well as laugh-inducing references to the congressman’s sometimes irascible personality.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recalled serving on the Labor/HHS subcommittee with Obey, “but not without some fear,” calling him a legislative virtuoso who once scolded her for not being more diplomatic.
She praised him as someone “who cared for people in their homes,” a legislator with values who got results and brought people together, “sometimes cheerfully.”
House Majority leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., recalled a favorite Obey description of hypocrites and phonies as people “posing for holy pictures” and said Obey never did that himself.
From the start of his career in Congress, Obey had decided to seek a seat on the House Appropriations Committee, which along with its counterpart in the Senate, crafts all of the government’s discretionary spending. Laird had served on Appropriations and concentrated on what usually was called “the Labor/HHS subcommittee.”
But first Obey had to persuade the Democratic leadership to assign him to Appropriations. In an interview, he recalled that he received most of his support from prominent women members: Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, and Nita Lowey of New York. He also became a close ally and friend of Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, now the Speaker of the House.
“I got a call from Martha Griffiths (D-Mich.), who was on the Democratic Steering Committee,” Obey said, “and she asked if I still wanted to go on Appropriations. I said, ‘Who do I have to kill?’ And she said she’d call me as soon as the deed was done.”
The call came. “She said, ‘You got it. There was no horse-trading.’”
Once on Appropriations, Obey became a foreign affairs expert, serving on the Foreign Operations Subcommittee, 10 years as its chairman, where he developed friendships with national leaders who were adversaries. Prominent among them were Yitzhak Rabin, prime minister of Israel, and Anwar Sadat, president of Egypt.
Obey also spent 36 years as a member of the Labor/HHS Subcommittee, where he also served as chairman and developed a reputation as a staunch liberal whose orientation was toward helping working-class citizens and the poor.
Eventually, he became chairman of the full Appropriations Committee, considered among the most powerful positions in the U.S. government because of the committee’s control of discretionary spending. Obey served as the chairman in 1994-’95 and 2007-2011, when he retired.
With his wife, Joan, Obey now lives in Goodwin House, a continuing care retirement community in Alexandria, Virginia.
In the interview, Obey said his preference was for the Labor/HHS Subcommittee.
“It is more than just a teacher’s pet for programs for political liberals, as some conservatives think,” he said. “It is a hard-nosed set of initiatives that know the jagged edges of capitalism. To me, it demonstrates that if you’re an appropriator you’re not just an accountant but an accountant with human values, and there’s a moral purpose to government.”
Obey, throughout his career, was fond of quoting Archy the cockroach, from the famed “Archy and Mehitabel” fictional characters by Don Marquis, a New York newspaperman. Mehitabel was an alley cat.
Quoting Archy to describe his life in Congress, Obey said: “As the world goes by, I see things from the underside.”
Frank Aukofer reported from Washington, D.C., for The Milwaukee Journal and later the merged Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for 30 years, retiring as its D.C. bureau chief in 2000. | 2022-05-18T14:35:47Z | www.jsonline.com | David Obey honored with his name on a room in the Rayburn House | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2022/05/18/david-obey-honored-his-name-room-rayburn-house/9793270002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2022/05/18/david-obey-honored-his-name-room-rayburn-house/9793270002/ |
OK, so we can't technically blame the spectral plane for a power outage in downtown Milwaukee, but when the Atlanta Braves were left without power and (in some cases) running water at the famous Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee on Monday, we had to wonder about the ghosts.
The hotel has become famous for freaking out a number of MLB players with its eerie incidents, most recently in 2018. Top MLB players such as Justin Upton and Eric Gagne have said they don't sleep well in the hotel, which opened in 1893 and is perhaps the most high-profile hotel in the city.
Here's a look at the track record of the haunted hotel and the baseball players who won't be booking a vacation anytime soon.
2001: Adrian Beltre
The Dodgers star said he heard knocking at his door while staying at the Pfister, even with the TV and air conditioner turned off.
2008: Carlos Gomez
It's a good thing that Gomez ultimately joined the Brewers and didn't have to stay overnight in a hotel. In 2008 as a member of the Twins, he was quoted as saying "Everything's scary. Everything in the hotel — the paintings and pictures, it's a lot of old, crazy stuff. No good, man. No good."
2009: Mike Cameron
The Brewers outfielder didn't actually have a story since he could live locally, but he said he'd never stay in the Pfister after hearing other players' stories.
2009: Brendan Ryan
"It was more like a moving light that kind of passed through the room," the Cardinals infielder told a local TV station. "The room got a little bit chillier."
2009: Pablo Sandoval
The Giants infielder told ESPN in 2013 about an experience he had in 2009. "I went to take a shower, and I remember putting my iPod next to a speaker. When I came out, it was playing music, and I have no idea why." Sandoval and teammate Edgar Renteria refused to stay with the rest of the team at the Pfister in 2010.
2011: Michael Young
Also speaking in 2013, the former Rangers player said: "A couple of years ago, I was lying in bed after a night game, and I was out. My room was locked, but I heard these footsteps inside my room, stomping around."
2012: Bryce Harper
The Nationals star said one year after his experience: "I laid a pair of jeans and a shirt on that table at the foot of the bed. When I woke up in the morning — I swear on everything — the clothes were on the floor and the table was on the opposite side of the room."
2013: Brandon Phillips
In a lengthy ESPN article detailing other athletes' experiences, Phillips said he was in his room when the radio turned on. "So I turned it off, and got in the shower," he said. When he came back out, it was on again. The article also details a creepy undated experience by Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson.
2016: Ji-Man Choi
Another future Brewers player, Choi was an Angels first baseman at the time when he reported feeling the presence of a spirit in his bed.
2016: Pedro Álvarez
Brewers manager Craig Counsell said two years ago he heard former Pirates infielder Pedro Álvarez had experienced weirdness at the hotel, which matches up with a story told in 2016 by Pirates manager Clint Hurdle. Hurdle didn't name names but said one of his players became spooked when a TV in his room turned on twice in one night.
Álvarez now works in the Brewers organization.
2016: Jon Gray
Rockies pitcher Jon Gray, who has a passion for ghost hunting, got a chance to tackle the Pfister in 2016.
2018: Carlos Martinez and Marcell Ozuna
Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez expressed that he had seen some sort of floating ghost on Instagram in June, and teammate Marcell Ozuna believed he had seen something similar, so the two elected to room together.
The sound crew at Miller Park got in on the fun by playing the "Ghostbusters" theme during a meeting on the mound mid-game. | 2022-05-18T14:36:11Z | www.jsonline.com | MLB players who say there are ghosts at Milwaukee's Pfister Hotel | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/05/18/mlb-players-who-say-there-ghosts-milwaukees-pfister-hotel/725118002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/05/18/mlb-players-who-say-there-ghosts-milwaukees-pfister-hotel/725118002/ |
There are all sorts of ways to rank these things, but there’s no question this is among the biggest weekends of the season for dirt track racing in Wisconsin.
The All Star Circuit of Champions and IRA Outlaw Sprint Series winged sprint cars run together three consecutive nights, Friday through Sunday, at Wilmot Speedway, the Plymouth Dirt Track and Angell Park Speedway, in that order.
What are the All Star Circuit of Champions and IRA Sprints?
The All Stars, owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, are traveling series with a schedule of about 60 races concentrated in Ohio and Pennsylvania with additional races in Georgia, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Missouri, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
IRA is a long-running regional series with about 30 races in Wisconsin and Illinois with one trip each to Iowa and North Dakota. The series runs numerous crossover events with other sanctioning bodies, such as in this Wisconsin swing.
What and where are the Wisconsin tracks the All Stars and IRA run together?
All are third-mile dirt tracks. Wilmot Raceway is located on the Kenosha County Fairgrounds, the Plymouth Dirt Track is on the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds and Angell Park Speedway is at Fireman’s Park in Sun Prairie.
General admission at the gate is $30 at each track.
What, in general, is the schedule for the race days?
Grandstands typically open in the late afternoon with hot laps, heat races and the feature to follow over the course of about 4-5 hours.
Who are the drivers to watch?
Defending All Stars champion Tyler Courtney leads the standings on the strength of two wins and eight top-five finishes in 10 features. Courtney won at Wilmot last season, when the Wisconsin stretch came in July.
Justin Peck and Hunter Schuerenberg also have won twice. Peck’s victories have come in the past three races and he is second in the standings. Scheurenberg ranks fifth.
Alaska-born and Hartland-based Bill Balog is in his second full season on the tour. The 10-time IRA champion is seventh in the standings with one top-five feature finish (second, Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania) and four top-10s. Balog won at Wilmot last year for his first All Star victory in 38 tries and then went back-to-back with the win at Angell Park.
Parker Price-Miller is another good story. Diagnosed late last year, Price-Miller has been undergoing chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma while continuing a full race schedule. He has nine top-10 finishes (including a third place) with the All Stars and also won a feature with another group two weeks ago in South Dakota.
Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan has gone 2-for-2 in IRA competition. He also led in one of his two All Star starts before being taken out in a crash with a lapped car.
Jake Neuman of New Berlin, Illinois, is second in the IRA standings with third-place finishes in both races, and Jeremy Schultz of Beaver Dam and Jordan Goldsberry of Springfield, Illinois, were the runners-up. | 2022-05-18T14:36:17Z | www.jsonline.com | All Star Circuit of Champions, IRA sprints join for 3 Wisconsin tracks | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/motor/2022/05/18/all-star-circuit-champions-ira-sprints-join-3-wisconsin-tracks/9805436002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/motor/2022/05/18/all-star-circuit-champions-ira-sprints-join-3-wisconsin-tracks/9805436002/ |
Ashippun chairman asks for improvements to 'dangerous' Oconomowoc intersection
The town of Ashippun plans to bring a resolution it unanimously approved March 11 to the town of Oconomowoc and the Waukesha County Board in hopes of making a busy intersection safer.
FormeAshippun Town Chairman Steve Panozzo brought the resolution forward after a fatal crash at highways CW and 67 on April 17. Molly Dunn, 38, of Oconomowoc, was killed; three others, including two juveniles, were injured. The intersection is south of Ashippun, in the town of Oconomowoc in Waukesha County.
When approaching the intersection from the west, there is a small ridge and vegetation that can impede a driver's vision, Panozzo said. The speed limit approaching the stop sign at the intersection is 55 mph. There is no stop sign for traffic on Highway 67.
"Every time I go by it, I tap my foot on the brake and say a little prayer before I go through there," he said. "It's a dangerous intersection, and something needs to be done."
Panozzo said he knew the victim of the recent crash and reached out to Waukesha County for data about reported incidents there.
According to the data he received from Waukesha County Sheriff Lt. Chadwick Niles, there have been 29 crashes at the intersection, including four fatalities and 25 injuries, since 2000.
Panozzo brought a resolution to study and make improvements to the intersection before the Ashippun Town Board on March 11. It was unanimously approved. He now plans to send it to the county board and the Oconomowoc Town Board for their consideration.
"It is my hope that they get this resolution and study the intersection for possible improvements," Panozzo said. "Some minor improvements would go a long way in making it safer."
Suggestions he had included for improving safety at the intersection include reducing the speed limit on Highway CW to 45 and adding rumble strips before the stop sign and.
Panozzo said anyone interested in making the intersection safer should contact him at chairmanpanozzo@gmail.com.
"I just want to encourage people to write a letter to the Waukesha County sheriff to request that they take action to improve the intersection," he said. "Otherwise, more people will get hurt, and more are going to die." | 2022-05-18T17:37:10Z | www.jsonline.com | Ashippun asks for improvements to 'dangerous' Oconomowoc intersection | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/2022/05/18/ashippun-asks-improvements-dangerous-oconomowoc-intersection/9806636002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/2022/05/18/ashippun-asks-improvements-dangerous-oconomowoc-intersection/9806636002/ |
Shorewood Intermediate School teacher named one of five Wisconsin Teachers of the Year by the DPI
A Shorewood Intermediate School teacher was recently honored as a Teacher of the Year by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Sarah Kopplin, who is a geography teacher at Shorewood Intermediate School, was one of five 2023 Wisconsin Teachers of the Year honored by the DPI. She received the award May 5 in a surprise ceremony at her school from state Superintendent Jill Underly. .
"It was just shocking to me. The kids were so excited. It was really fun to see their reaction. It stunned me. I had no idea," Kopplin said in a phone interview May 17.
Also receiving Teacher of the Year honors were Kaelee Heideman, a school counselor at Carl Traeger Elementary in the Oshkosh Area School District; Lori Danz, an outdoor education teacher at Superior High School in the School District of Superior; Peg Billing, a library media specialist at Lakeland Union High School in the Lakeland Union High School District; and Dustin Anderson, an art teacher at Grant and Grove Elementary Schools in Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools.
Kopplin said receiving the award was "incredibly humbling."
"I definitely feel very grateful to be recognized for my hard work and for my passion. I really, really love what I do, and I'm really glad I've chosen this profession. I'm still in shock, even now," Kopplin said.
An email from DPI communications officer Chris Bucher said Kopplin finds "innovative, resourceful ways to provide opportunities for all students." He also said Kopplin serves on the school's instructional leadership, as well as "on many district-level planning workgroups and has a sincere commitment to improving outcomes for students."
"Through her ability of creating authentic learning opportunities, students in her class leverage their leadership, voice, and choice to guide their individual learning experiences," Bucher wrote.
Wisconsin selects five Teachers of the Year annually to represent elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and special services. One of the five is selected after an interview process to represent the state in the Council of Chief State School Officers National Teacher of the Year program, according to the DPI's website. The representative for Wisconsin has not yet been chosen and will be selected in late summer.
The DPI considers all five teachers it selects for its Teacher of the Year program "and does not give special designation to the one chosen to represent the state in the National Teacher of the Year program," the DPI said on its website.
For more information on the selection process, visit dpi.wi.gov/teacher-year/program/selection-process. | 2022-05-18T17:37:16Z | www.jsonline.com | Shorewood teacher receives state Teacher of the Year Award | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/news/shorewood/2022/05/18/shorewood-teacher-receives-state-teacher-year-award/9807462002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/news/shorewood/2022/05/18/shorewood-teacher-receives-state-teacher-year-award/9807462002/ |
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